Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Good isn't it?" Mario looked towards his little brother after they watched their new commercial, a cheeky grin on his face. Luigi looked up at him, an unsure smile on his. "C'mon, don't give me that face, Lu. We're going to get so many customers." 

"Uh, maybe?" Luigi's reply sounded more like a question than an answer. But Mario didn't care, this was his aim after all. If he set up a failed business, then Luigi would have no choice but to go to college like Mario wanted him to. He's fifteen, after all. A prodigy - he graduated High School at fifteen! He should be in college, changing lives. 'Just like you wanted to.' The voice in his head argued, but he shook it off.

He was thirty-one now, and had his kid to look out for. What he wanted didn't matter. Yeah, it sucked, but he'd rather give Luigi the life he deserved over anything else. 

Luigi had insisted on following him into the plumbing industry, claiming that Mario needed support. He was completely neglecting the idea of going to college, and Mario didn't want that. He knew Luigi could do wonders for this world, and he wanted him to pursue his dreams.

"Oh lookie here, it's the Super Mario Brothers!" Mario scoffed half-heartedly as a large arm wrapped around his shoulder, pulling him into a headlock. He chuckled and pushed him off, crossing his arms. 

"Oh, hi Spike!" Luigi greeted, offering a small wave as he bounced up and down on his feet. Spike was Mario's former boss at Wrecking Crew, and was quite a good friend of his. He was there for him at a time when nobody else was, something Mario hated to admit. Despite having a brash personality, he knew he could confide in him.

He was also one of the only people he trusted to look after Luigi.

"Hey Luigi. Would you mind going and ordering for me? You know my usual." Spike asked, leaning an arm over to pull his hat off to ruffle the kid's hair. Luigi nodded and ran off to the counter, and Mario braced himself for the conversation they were about to have. "Mario, what's going on? You leave my company and then you start this business up with Luigi?"

Mario watched as Spike took off his glasses and tucked them into his shirt, noting the concerned gaze in his eyes. "If I'm not paying you enough, you could've said so. I've been wanting to promote you to co-owner for years." He grimaced at that. "And I hate to be pushy, but Luigi is a bright kid. Shouldn't he be off studying in college?"

Mario nodded grimly, glancing over at his little brother. His gaze softened and filled with a fondness that he held only for the kid. "Exactly. Call me stupid but if I can show him that this business won't work, it'll motivate him to actually go to college."

He knew there was a chance of his plan not working. But, if Luigi realised that this was a false hope, then he could finally start his life. Mario didn't want him to fall behind just because he felt an obligation to stay with him.

"That's not fair to him, Mario, and you know it." Spike argued, leading to Mario's gaze dropping. He knew that - he'd fought tooth and nail to try and get Luigi to apply for some colleges, but the kid just wouldn't back down. He wanted to stay by Mario's side, but Mario didn't want to bring him down. "But, I guess I'm not a parent."

"I'm not his parent." Mario retorted, glancing up at him. "I'm his big brother." Spike frowned at that, but Mario couldn't find it in himself to care. He wasn't Luigi's dad, Luigi didn't need a dad.

"Are you still going on with that? C'mon Mario-."

"Mario! Mario! We got a call." Luigi grinned at him as he ran over, resting his hands on his shoulders and shaking him excitedly. Mario's jaw practically hit the floor, they actually got a call? That was something he wasn't expecting, and now what would he do? He could feel Spike's gaze burn into the back of his head, but he had to ignore it. "The Super Mario Bros are in business!" 

_________

Mario unlocked the door to their small flat and kicked off his shoes, hanging his hat on the hook. He made his way into the kitchen, subconsciously shoving his gloves in his back pocket. "Pasta for dinner, Lu?" He called to him, opening the cupboards and seeing what they had to eat.

Hardly anything. Yikes.

"I must've forgotten to do the food run." He reassured himself, shaking his head. He'd put all his savings into the commercial, and for what? To try and get Lu to go to college? Now he was beginning to see how stupid his idea was. "Toast it is then!" 

Was crushing Luigi's hopes really the right way to get what he wanted?

"Mario?" Luigi's voice came from the doorway, and he released a small hum to show he was listening. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to mess up." 

Ah. Their job hadn't gone very well, something to do with a rudeass dog and a plumbing disaster. But, Mario was assured by the fact that it wasn't their plumbing skills, but more so that the dog was pissed about his bone being broken. Mario was quick to comfort him, though. He couldn't let Luigi be upset.

"Lu, don't stress about it. It's okay." He assured him as he pulled some bread out of the packet, and into the toaster. "Mistakes happen, it was your first job. I was terrible at it when I first started." 

"You didn't want to be a plumber, though." Luigi pointed out, which brought Mario to turn towards him. 

"Where'd you hear that from?" He questioned, feeling a sudden tightness grow in his chest. As far as he was aware, he'd never spoken of his past wishes to Luigi. Mario didn't want his little brother to think that it was his fault that he didn't pursue his dreams.

"Pauline. She told me you wanted to be a doctor, until I came along." Mario was going to be having a long conversation with Pauline whenever she was free next, she was obviously busy being the Mayor but that didn't matter: she needed to know she'd overstepped a boundary Mario set. "Why did you give it up?"

"Luigi, it's nothing you're thinking of, okay?" Mario was quick to reassure him, walking towards him and ruffling his hair, taking advantage of his little brother being shorter than him whilst it lasted. He was absolutely sure that Lu was going to have a growth spurt sooner or later, and he dreaded the very idea. "I didn't get high enough grades. That's all."

"Pauline told me you got all A's." Luigi argued back, and Mario shook his head.

"Pauline shouldn't be telling you these things." He spoke through gritted teeth, shaking his head in frustration as he turned around to get the toast out of the toaster. "Lu, just drop it. I'm happy doing what I'm doing." 

"But are you?" Luigi questioned, seemingly not wanting to back down. Mario felt himself tense as he willed himself to calm down, he couldn't blow up, not at Luigi. I'm not my father. He told himself, clenching his fists around the butterknife. 

"Lu, drop it please." He said seriously, placing the plates on the table and slumping himself into a chair, scolding himself for forgetting to get food. What kind of big brother was he, not giving Luigi healthy food? The voice of his brother's social worker ran through his head from her last visit, making sure he's feeding him correctly and all that bullshit.

Mario tries his hardest. 

He watched as Luigi sat down across from him, offering a small smile as he tore pieces of his own toast, eating it sluggishly, his gaze focused on his plate. He didn't feel like eating right now, his mind was too loud. You'd just bring him down if you took him with you. His father's voice echoed in his head again.

Luigi would be better off with a foster family, honey. You can't give him the life he needs. 

He's always done his best for Luigi. He's given him toys, paid for daycare and school, and paid for anything he wanted. 

Where are you going to go, Mario? No one will have you.

He had made it out on his own, he'd done this by himself. 

No one loves you.

Luigi loves him…

Right?

"Mario?" His head shot up to stare at his little brother, before looking down at his own hand, which had toast crumpled up in it. "Mario, are you okay?" 

Mario nodded quickly, giving Luigi a goofy smile and standing up, taking both of their plates and walking towards the sink. "Si. Non preoccuparti, fratellino." 

His hand moved to turn on the radio as he washed the dishes from that morning and evening. He had forgotten to wash them. He half listened to what was being said, and half focused on Luigi. He could feel his little brother's presence at the kitchen table, and half wondered why he hadn't left the room. 

"Everything is under control, we will have this issue sorted." Mario glanced towards the radio at the sound of Pauline's voice, his eyebrows furrowing. There was talk of the streets of Brooklyn flooding. "Someone help! Someone save Brooklyn!"

Mario wanted to help. He could prove to everyone, Luigi's social worker, Spike, Pauline - he could prove he was happy and content, and he could prove that he was good enough to be there for Luigi. 

"Lu, I'm going out, but I'll be back." Mario told him as he put the dishes away and dried his hands on the tea towel, before slipping his gloves back on. "Don't answer the door to anyone, keep the curtains closed, and remember you need to be off your phone by twelve." 

He made his way through the hallway, sighing as Luigi followed him. "You're not going out there, are you? Mario, it's dangerous." 

Mario slipped on his boots and turned to his brother, grabbing his hands in one of his and reaching the other out to caress his cheek. "You know I wouldn't do anything that'd take me away from you. I'll be fine, just make sure you stay here, okay?" 

Though he refused to admit it, he never wanted Luigi to ever come across something that was dangerous. Memories of his own childhood and the dangers he had to face before Lu came along and the way the nightmares still plagued him - it was something he never wished for Luigi to experience, and was something he'd do his damn best to protect him from. 

At Luigi's nod, Mario smiled and leant down to kiss his forehead, before putting his hat on and heading out the door - being sure to lock it behind him. 

He made his way down the street, trudging through the water as he glanced around. There were many people there, trying to solve the issue. He walked towards Pauline, offering her a small smile. "Jeez, looks like the sewers got a nasty stomach bug."

Pauline smiled, shaking her head fondly at him. "Do you think you could solve this, Mario? You'd be greatly rewarded if you could." He offered her a toothy grin and nodded, tipping his hat to her.

"I haven't got thirteen years of experience for nothing." His friend laughed, and opened her mouth to respond, before her expression dropped again. His gaze turned to that of confusion, before turning to face where she was looking.

Behind him, was no one other than Luigi. Here. Somewhere that wasn't safe. 

"Lu, what are you doing here? You need to go back home." Mario told him, pulling him away from Pauline with a frown - a fatherly one, as Spike called it. 

"No, Mario! I saw someone on the news get hurt, and- and- I don't want that to happen to you." He sighed, and tightened his grip on his hand. Luigi was always a worry wart like that, it was something Mario had never been able to help him with. 

"I already told you I won't do anything stupid. Come on, sit down on that bench. I'll come back to get you once I'm done." He paused, taking a breath, reveling in the opportunity to gather his thoughts. "What are my rules?" 

"Don't talk to strangers, and don't go out of eyesight of where you put me." Luigi recounted, by memory. Mario smiled proudly at him and ruffled his hair. 

"That's my kid. Now wait here." 

He failed to see the way Luigi's eyes lit up at the praise as he turned towards a manhole. 

_______

Mario made his way through the sewers, his eyes landing on a pressure valve. It looked incredibly close to bursting, and Mario would bet all his money that that was the root cause of all this. He nodded to himself before making his way towards the pipe, and crawling his way over to it. 

Come on, Mario, you can do this. 

You're so close, just keep going.

You're worthless.

Just a little bit more.

You'll never succeed.

Almost there.

Luigi would be better off without you.

He reached his hand out to grab the wheel.

You're bringing him down.

The valve snapped off, Mario stared numbly as it finally crashed, and descended down into the dark abyss. It wouldn't be found again, and now Brooklyn couldn't be repaired. 

The pipe shook, causing Mario to tighten his grip on it. He heard a squeak behind him, and turned, expecting to see some randomer who had followed him down into the sewers.

Instead he saw Luigi. 

"What are you doing down he-!" Mario screamed as the pipe collapsed, sending the two of them flying back and through a brick wall.

_________

"Darling, you have a meeting in about an hour." Peach glanced over at her father figure and nodded gently, placing down her teacup. "Are you sure you can handle this? We've never had to face war before, well at least, not whilst you've blessed us with your arrival."

She smiled fondly at Toadsworth and nodded. "I'll be fine, we need to face this head-on. It's the only way we can stop Bowser." She knew of Bowser, and she knew of his misdeeds, but she didn't know the lengths he would go to. Part of her didn't really want to know, but she knew she had to protect her kingdom. 

"Peach, you'd have more power crowned as Queen." She couldn't help the way her eyes rolled at her father's comment. He had been becoming more and more insistent on her marrying. "You're thirty-one now, Peach. It's time you settled down."

"And I've told you, I will marry for nothing less than love." Peach spoke, trying her damn hardest to maintain her composure. She was getting tired of these constant comments of her not yet being married. Why should she have to settle for anything other than true love? "Alliance marriages never end well, and I do not wish to be a part of one."

"Alright, my dear. But I wish for you to start seeking out love as you claim. I do not want to leave this world before you become Queen." 

Though she couldn't quite understand why he was so pushy with her becoming Queen, as it would basically entail the same powers she had as Princess, but he had always been traditional in that sense. 

It would be nice if she found someone to love, as it had been something she'd longed for, for quite a long time. However, she wished to marry some like her. She loved her Toads to pieces but it just wouldn't quite remain the same for she wanted to have a love story with someone she could connect with on that same level.

Someone who had the same ideals as her. She'd sacrifice anything for her Toads, and she'd want a partner like that. Or perhaps someone who wished to have a family. 

Peach questioned if that would even be possible. She was a strong, powerful leader. No one had ever beaten her in a fight, she didn't need a partner to rule her Kingdom, she was doing amazing on her own.

But it would be nice. Her mind argued, but she quickly shut it down. She could rule her Kingdom on her own, and besides, she was certain it would be impossible to find a human like her.

____________

Mario opened his eyes after they crashed through a wall. Honestly, he had been expecting to just slam right into the wall, but no, they had gone through it?!

He forced himself to stand, before remembering Luigi was there too. On instinct, he rushed to help his brother up and grabbed him by the shoulders, his eyes wide and frantic. "What were you thinking?! You shouldn't have followed me down here!" 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to go into it alone." Luigi tried to explain, his gaze upset and worried. It was Mario's least favourite expression that the kid had. But that didn't matter quite at this moment, what mattered is Luigi had gone against his rules. 

"Luigi, you're fifteen! It's too dangerous for you to get involved in things like this. I understand you were scared, but I can't have anything bad happening to you." His gaze softened as he noticed Luigi's bottom lip beginning to quiver, and chose to pull him into his arms, squeezing just a little bit too tight. "It's okay, it's okay. Just don't do anything like that again. What matters is we're both safe, and can find a way out of here." 

Mario took Luigi's hand in his and pulled out a torch from his bag, looking around. He pulled Luigi forward with him, making sure to shine his torch in every direction there was. "What is this place?"

Luigi began to hum the 'mission impossible' theme as they walked down the stairs, causing a smile to break on Mario's face. It made him so incredibly happy to know Luigi was still his happy boy. 

"Looks like no one's been down here for years." Mario commented as Luigi slipped his fingers from his, walking towards a pipe.

"That's one big pipe. I'm gonna take a picture of this bro, one second." He hummed in acknowledgement as he kept walking forward, looking at all the weird artifacts around them. How did this all get down here?

Perhaps it's an old museum storage? His mind reasoned, wondering if anyone would care if he took some of this stuff and brought it back home. It'd definitely add some decor to their small flat, as they couldn't really afford anything more than the basics.

A crash sounded behind him, and Mario whirled around, to find Luigi gone. "Lu?" He called, walking towards the Pipe he had just been in and shining his torch in there. "Luigi are you hiding somewhere in there? C'mon, it's not funny." 

When he heard no response, Mario began to panic. Where was his kid? He felt his heartbeat pick up as he stepped into the pipe, walking down it as he shone his phone through. His kid wasn't there. 

"Luigi, you can come out now." When Mario got no response, he felt his lungs being crushed within his ribs. Like his breath was being taken from him. Slowly, he began to feel a force pulling him closer into the pipe - a small confused sound left his mouth. What was going on?

Before he could even begin to make sense of the situation, he was being pulled forward and into some land of pink and yellow clouds. It was as though he was in space. He glanced around, his mouth dropping in awe.

Just his luck, finding some weird place in the sky. Maybe he had actually crashed into a wall, and was just unconscious. Yeah, that had to be right. This couldn't be happening. He grabbed his arm and pinched himself, confusion filling him as he felt the pain from it. This couldn't be real, could it? 

His head turned at the sound of Luigi screaming, his eyes widening as he saw his little brother flailing through the air. "LUIGI!" He screamed, moving his arms and kicking his legs forward, as if he was swimming, to reach his little brother. "Give me your hand!"

Luigi reached out and grabbed his hand, and Mario felt painfully aware of how much he was shaking. "It's all going to be okay!" He reassured him, grabbing his other one and pulling him closer to him. 

"How is any of this going to be okay?!" Luigi shouted back, his voice croaky. Mario had sworn years ago that he'd make sure Luigi would never have to be afraid again, and yet here he was, terrified. What was worse is that he didn't know how to get rid of that fear.

"I'm telling you! Nothing can hurt us, as long as we're together." Mario smiled at him, and felt the swell of joy as Luigi smiled back at him. Just as Mario was about to pull him closer into a tighter hold in his arms (because not to brag, but he didn't bodybuild for nothing), there was an incredibly strong force between them, and his worst nightmare came true as Luigi was ripped from his grip.

"DAD!" 

His heart squeezed tighter in his chest as he was pulled towards this dark cloud full of everything that seemed to be bad in the world. Luigi called him the name he used to call him when he was younger, the one Mario told him he couldn't call him.

Oh, how much he regretted that now.

"LUIGI!" Mario cried, reaching his arms out for him before he was pulled around a corner, and could no longer see him.

Luigi, the kid he had named.

The kid he had raised.

The kid he had fought for.

Was now somewhere Mario wasn't sure he could reach. Now all he could hope was that this wasn't the end, and that he'd be able to get him out of whatever mess he had gotten into.

Like he always did.

Chapter Text

Toad was once again wandering through mushroom forest, something he tended to do. He loved his Kingdom, but sometimes he couldn't help but feel like an outcast there. No one really actively tried to be his friend, so he took to trying to become an adventurer. 

He wondered if he'd ever actually get the chance of making a friend, and going on adventures across the world with them. It was a dream of his, a dream that he doubted would ever become a reality. 

Whilst whistling to himself, he was interrupted by the familiar sounds of someone exiting a pipe and a loud, painful sounding crash. Working up his courage, Toad made his way towards the sound, caution consuming his every step. He didn't know what could have come out of the pipe, what if it was dangerous?! 

No, he was the great and mighty Toad! He would soon become the fearless adventurer of the Mushroom Kingdom! 

He tripped up on something, something heavy. 

Looking down, he recoiled back in shock at the sight of a human?! An unconscious one at that. He looked closer, seeing the way his eyes were scrunched up, appearing to be in distress. Did he need help? Well, obviously he did! So, he set on a mission, to find help! Perhaps the Princess, she'd be able to do something as she was a human too.

He made his way towards the Kingdom once again, feeling an urgent need to save this human that he'd never felt before. It was odd, he'd never seen another human, so why should he care about this one? Regardless of why, it was still doing the right thing saving him. 

Surprisingly, the castle guards let him in after he explained. Perhaps it was out of pure curiosity about another human gracing their lands? He honestly doubted it was out of the goodness of their hearts, as most of the Toad guards were stuck up due to their positions. 

He made his way down the corridors, and slammed open the doors to the throne room….

Which the entire council was in.

Embarrassing.

"Princess!" He called to her and the Princess, ever so polite, looked over ready to listen. "There's a human in the forest by the warp pipe! He's unconscious." 

Everyone in the council either gasped or had looks or shock on their faces. Rightfully so, it was unheard of for a human to appear, the last one who had was Princess Daisy, who'd shown up in SarasaLand 12 years ago. 

"Take me to him." 

-

After finding him in the forest and bringing him back, Toad and Peach stood beside the human as he laid in one of the hospital beds. Peach's eyebrows were furrowed in thought as she looked at him. His expression was strange, as though his mind was awake, but he was not. 

'He's so small'. She thought to herself as she observed his features. He seemed well built, with quite a muscular form, but he roughly looked to be around five-feet-six to five-feet-seven, as opposed to her own six-feet-three. Though, she had to admit, he had quite a handsome face.

He looked to be close to her age, maybe even the same age as her? But the bags around his eyes told a different story. The man looked so odd, he looked strong physically, but his face looked so afraid. 

As his eyebrows furrowed, Peach felt an obligation to comfort him. It led her to grabbing a chair to pull to his beside and sitting down, grabbing his hand in her's. Just in case there was a chance that he could feel her there.

This complete stranger, someone who had fallen through the pipe. Just what had he been through? What world did he come from? 

Why did she feel such a strong need to protect him? 

_________

Mario sat across from Luigi, a soft smile on his face as he watched the child make his first attempt of twirling spaghetti around his fork. It wasn't going well, but hey! Points for trying - it was just another thing he could teach him, which made his heart warm at the very thought.

Just a few weeks ago, he had finally adopted him. Unfortunately, his parents had visitation rights until Luigi could speak for himself and voice that he didn't want to see them. Mario didn't quite understand why they wouldn't listen to him when he said Lu wouldn't want to see them - he screamed and cried every time his 'parents' tried to hold him. 

The court just had it out for him. 

"Mi bambino, you're getting spaghetti all over the floor." Mario laughed, reaching out to grab a baby wipe to wipe the kid's face. Luigi just giggled and pulled away, and Mario felt his heart swelling with love more and more for the kid every time he looked at him. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Make more spaghetti!" Luigi answered with another giggle; what else could Mario do but laugh with him? But of course, anything Luigi wanted, he would be sure to give him. Because he deserved the world and anything else that there was. 

"We can make as much spaghetti as you want." Mario picked him up and pulled him into his arms, holding him close, grateful for the days he spends at the gym. He hoped he'd one day get strong enough to be able to pick Luigi up even when he's older. 

His head turned at a loud thud on the front door, brows furrowing. They weren't expecting any guests, and call it his anxiety, but he had a bad feeling. Mario weighed out the options, either leave Luigi in the kitchen or take him with him. What was the safer option? He wasn't quite sure. 

Though he was confident in his abilities of being able to protect him, he didn't know who was at the door. After a few steady moments to regulate his breathing, he opted to pick Luigi up and walk towards the door.

Undoing the chain lock and opening the door, his jaw went slack at who he was seeing. His.. his parents? What could they possibly want? Immediately he began to regret taking Luigi to the door with him. 

"We want to see Luigi, take him somewhere for the day." Mario frowned, shaking his head immediately. Something was up with this, and he wasn't stupid enough to trust them.

"Absolutely not. The court states if you are to see him it must be supervised by a social worker." He had read over the court agreements time and time again - they were practically ingrained in his memory at this point. The way Luigi's small fists clung to his shirt solidified his answer. 

"It wasn't a request. We're taking him." Instinctively, he took a step back and moved towards the kitchen, locking the door behind him. He wasn't sure what to do, he knew his parents could be aggressive at times, but would they be now? Deciding Luigi's safety was the most important thing here, and because of the fact they were now banging on the kitchen door, he decided to call the police. 

Putting Luigi down on the floor before gripping his hand, he called them. Though, he didn't have time to even speak to the operator before the door was knocked off of the hinges. His little brother let out a small yelp as Mario pushed him behind him, still keeping his grip on his hand.

The 911 operator was speaking down the phone, but Mario felt as though he couldn't speak. He only hoped they could hear what was going to happen.

"Give us our son, Mario. This has been going on for too long!" His dad yelled at him, and he shook his head.

"Legally, he's my son. I adopted him because you two were shit parents! You're not taking him away, the court forbade it." Mario tried his best to speak assertively, hoping to the God's that Luigi couldn't feel the tremors wracking his body.

"Oh I've had enough of this!" His dad grunted, before approaching him. Mario didn't have time to react before his dad was lifting up a pocket knife, and shoving it through his stomach. 

He maintained his grip on Luigi's hand, even as his legs crumpled beneath him and he collapsed to the ground. It had all happened so quick, and Mario felt like the air had just been knocked out of him. His mind fogged up from the pain. 

"Dad? Up, up!" Luigi's small voice echoed through his ears, and he could feel one of his small hands shaking him. "Up, please!" His mind foggily registered him calling him dad, and how- how-.

Despite being in a daze, he was able to register as his father approached Luigi, and tore him from his grasp. Mario was left to reach out for him, unable to move.

Then they left with his piccolo, bleeding out on the kitchen floor.

"LUIGI!" He startled awake, his eyes darting around everywhere. It was all unfamiliar, he couldn't recognise any of it, where he was, who he was with. He just had to get his kid. He sat up, and as he was about to get out of bed, two hands rested on his shoulder.

"Hey, steady there. You had quite the fall." Mario looked to the side, his eyes landing on a woman, in a radiant pink dress. He blinked for a second, trying to process this. Why did she look like a princess? "I'm Peach, Princess of this Kingdom."

He withdrew for a minute, shaking his head. Was he still unconscious? "Am I dreaming?" He questioned, before wincing as he was suddenly hit with a.. stick?! "Ow!"

"That hurt right?"

"Yes, I- What the fuck?!" He looked at the… talking mushroom?! He jumped back, sitting up and backing himself against the wall. "What the fuck is going on? Where am I?" 

The woman stood up, holding her hands out cautiously towards him. "It's okay, you're safe. We're not going to hurt you - we found you by the warp pipe in the forest, you were unconscious, we just wanted to make sure you were safe."

On the inside he laughed. This definitely wasn't his home, as no one really cared about his safety there. Regardless, he allowed himself to relax a bit more, though kept the apprehension levels up as there was a literal talking mushroom. 

"I'm Mario." He introduced himself quietly, still trying to take in his surroundings. It looked vastly different to Earth. He was in what he assumed was a hospital, but it was full of colours and pictures. There was a plate of mushrooms at his bedside, and he almost gagged at the thought of having to eat them.

Luigi loves mushrooms.

Wait, Luigi!

"Wait! I need your help, please." Mario leaned forward and held the woman's hands, who looked at him with a surprised expression. "I remember now- me, me and my kid, Luigi! We fell down this pipe, and uh- we got separated. He was headed towards this dark gray cloud with thunder and lava." 

He took the way that the woman froze as not a good sign. 

"Don't panic, please. It won't be good if you do." The woman, Peach, started slowly. "That's a place called the DarkLands. It's ruled by Bowser, who… isn't the kindest. But, you say he's a kid?" At Mario's nod, she continued, "then hopefully, he won't do anything too bad. But, it's best if I set off to rescue him." 

'I'? Absolutely not. This princess was crazy if she thought she was going to save his kid without him.

"You have to take me with you." He decided, staring at her firmly. Mario couldn't imagine what Luigi was going through right now, he couldn't bear the very thought of him suffering, somewhere alone without him to lean on. That hadn't happened for years, and he thought back on the dream he had just had with resentment. 

"I'm not sure about that. This guy is a lunatic, a psycho! I don't want you to get hurt, especially after just coming to this world. It's very dangerous." He appreciated how the woman was trying to kindly explain, but his nerves were too frayed to care. 

"Listen, I understand. But please, listen." His voice began to shake lightly. The thought of Lu being with someone so dangerous was one he couldn't stand. "This is my kid, my piccolo. He's never been in this world, he won't know who to trust. He needs me, and I need to save him. I won't be able to settle if he's not with me." 

Mario saw the way the woman's expression softened, before a smile emerged on her face. He liked that smile, he noted. It was very pretty. 

"Alright. You can rest in my castle for tonight, and tomorrow morning we'll see what you're made of." 

Mario found that for some reason he didn't like where this was going.

________

Luigi fell out of the pipe and onto the ground, and immediately was met with the heavy scent of smoke. He lifted himself up, wishing he had his inhaler on him right now, having left it on the side in the kitchen. 

"Okay, okay. New scary dark place, definitely not creepy. I'm just playing one of my games, yeah. That's it." He shakily stood up, glancing around cautiously. There was lava, and leafless trees. It looked like an old volcanic site in a way. His body trembled as he wandered through the place.

"Mario?" He whispered cautiously, giving into the false hope that Mario had landed nearby. What he wouldn't give to be in one of his tight, secure hugs right now, or to be hand in hand with him as he walked him to school. He had always been his safety net, always the one he loved the most in the world. 

"Mario, are you here? I'm scared. I want to go home." Luigi called, his hands trembling as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and turned on the flashlight, looking around anxiously. He had to keep moving.

"Mario! I don't want you to leave me!" Luigi clung to his shirt. He had just recently been rescued from Mario's parents, and Mario had to be in the hospital until further notice, meaning Luigi had to go stay in a foster home temporarily until Mario sorted it all out. 

Mario pulled Luigi into his lap in front of him, resting his strong and steady hand on his shoulder, "Hey, hey. It's okay, I'm always going to be here. Nothing can hurt us as long as we're together, remember?" 

"But we're not going to be together!" He sobbed, wrapping his arms around his neck. Mario returned the hug, wrapping his arms around him just as tight. "They keep taking me away!" 

"I promise you, Luigi. You just have to keep going, keep on moving and stay strong. No matter where you are, what situation you're in, I'll find you, I'll always find you. You're my kid, and no matter where we are you'll always be back in my arms in the end, okay?" Luigi nodded softly, reaching his fist up to wipe his own tears. "I love you, mi piccolo. I'm never going to leave you." 

"I don't want you to leave me, ever." 

"Me? Leave you? Impossible." Mario booped his nose, erupting a giggle from the child. "I just have to get better, my tummy is hurt and the doctors need to keep me safe so I can get back big and strong. That way I can keep on giving you my big strong cuddles!"

Luigi laughed, nodding happily. "And you'll come to get me as soon as you're better?" At Mario's nod, he finally moved to get off of the bed and take Gemma's, his social worker, hand. He waved to Mario, who blew him a kiss. 

"I'll come and get you soon, remember. No matter where you are."

"No matter where I am." Luigi mumbled, nodding firmly to himself and continuing on through the dark forest. If he could find Mario, or maybe even someone, then that meant safety. The teenager took slow but steady steps, but he couldn't see any sign of life. 

That was a bad sign, right? 

His head turned as he heard footsteps, his heartbeat picking up in his chest. Okay, that was definitely a bad sign. Was something coming to get him? It wasn't Mario, as he would've announced himself by now. 

Regardless, he asked. " Dad?" He called, shining his torch around the area. A small yelp elicited from him as he saw a walking skeleton coming towards him. "Oh- oh fuck no! Fuck no!" He took a few steps back, before breaking out into a run.

He was not about to get eaten, no no no! That was not how he wanted to go. He kept running, determined that if he did he would find some form of sanctuary. 

In his panic, he forgot to look where he was going, resulting in him crashing into a branch and flinging right into the skeleton. Luigi yelped once again, standing up and looking at the pile of bones. He had- did he beat it?

"Haha, yes! If only dad could see me now." He laughed, punching one fist into the air excitedly before picking up the skull to retrieve his hat. "You just got ha-luigi'd!" 

Or not.

The skull's glowing eyes returned, bringing another yelp from him as he jumped back, staring in horror as the skeleton put itself back together. They could do that?! How was that fair?

Luigi turned on his heel and began stumbling away, looking at his phone and pressing Mario's contact. He doubted he even knew how to answer the phone, but it was worth a shot. Mario always struggled to work the new phones nowadays. 

He didn't answer.

Of course. Luigi sobbed softly as more and more skeletons began to chase him, some grabbing at his ankles and his wrists. He was terrified, he wanted to go home. 

His eyes landed on a castle in the distance, hope filling him. Maybe someone in there could help. With a deep breathe and an overdose of courage, he jumped over the lava mote and slammed open the castle doors before closing them behind him, releasing a shrill scream as the arms pushed through. 

But he kept pushing, and managed to lock them. Luigi whimpered as he stepped backwards, thunder crackling in the distance.

"What are you doing under there?" Luigi lifted his head at the sound of Mario's voice. He was hiding under the bed - there was a storm and he didn't like it, it was too loud.

"I don't like thunder." He told him with a small pout, eliciting a smile from his father figure. 

"Well, I don't like it either." He told him, chuckling as he struggled to get under the bed with him. After a few more seconds of struggle, he managed and wrapped his arm around him. "Let's hide from it together, si?" 

Luigi nodded, tucking his head into Mario's chest and squeezing his eyes closed.

"I'll always make sure you're safe. Even when I'm not here, just keep being brave until I find you." 

Luigi looked around the castle, walking inwards and slumping down on a rock as he tried to regulate his breathing. Shit, he could really use his inhaler right now. 

He jumped at the sound of something behind him, turning his head and screaming once again at the sight of a small masked creature coming towards him with ropes.

He was fucked.

Chapter Text

"Mario! Look, I made you something!" Mario smiled and crouched down as he ran over to him on the school playground. Immediately, Luigi ran into his arms and Mario picked him up, ruffling his hair fondly.

He avoided the gaze of all the aweing mothers, and a few fathers, who always had a lingering gaze on him. It was awkward to say the least. 

"Really? Is it another thing to go on the fridge?" He asked, chuckling as he shook his head. 

"No, no! It's Father's day. So I made you a card!" Mario paused, looking at him with an unsure expression. "Miss Wilson said because you adopted me you're my dad, so you get father's day gifts too!"

He smiled unsurely, before checking he had his things and carrying him out to the car. 

"Make sure you keep your seatbelt on." He reminded him, before pulling out of the school parking lot and beginning the ride home.

"Mario, did I do something wrong?" Luigi's small voice asked from the back of the car, bringing him to wince. In his eyes, Luigi could never do anything wrong, but it was Mario that could.

Why did Luigi want him to be his dad so badly? He wasn't his dad, he wasn't good enough to be his dad. If Mario let him start calling him dad, what would he do if he started turning into his own father?

It was his worst fear, and he couldn't bear to hurt Luigi the way his dad did to him.

"No, you didn't piccolo. It's just- some people have dads," He started, trying to think of the best way to explain this knowing Luigi doesn't understand these types of things, "and other people have different families, like us. I'm your big brother, and I'll always be here for you, but I'm not your dad."

"But I see you as my dad!" Luigi spoke back, and Mario wanted to cry then and there. He wasn't good enough to be Luigi's dad, he couldn't be his dad.

He just couldn't.

"I'm not your dad, Lu. You don't have a dad, but it's okay because you have me, and then Uncle Spike and Auntie Pauline. We have our own little family."

"But I just want you! I want you to be my dad!" Luigi now had his hands over his ears, shaking his head rapidly as he began to get overwhelmed, and Mario found he had no clue what to do. "I don't want anyone else." 

"Lu, it's not that simple, okay? One day you'll understand but just-." He couldn't find the words to finish what he was saying, his head downturned sadly. He pulled into the parking lot of their apartment complex and parked the car.

After unstrapping Luigi and taking his hand, trying to ignore the big swell of guilt within him as Luigi cried, they made their way up to their flat. 

The crying stopped as he opened the front door.

"Luigi?" Mario looked down, only to find his little brother gone. His stomach dropped, feeling a sickening sense of dread consume him. 

The kitchen door creaked open down the hallway, and Mario immediately ran towards it and walked into the kitchen. Three people were there, their backs turned.

All of a sudden, the room went dark. He was trapped in a void, where he couldn't get out. Mario looked around frantically, trying to find an exit. He didn't know where Luigi was - was he even safe? 

"Luigi?!" He called, sighing in relief as he heard his little brother call for him. Mario ran in the direction of his voice, only to be stopped by a barrier that he couldn't get through. "Luigi! Hold on, I'll try to find a way to you!" 

"Come on Mario, what kind of person are you? He's gonna grow up knowing you don't want to be his dad." Spike's voice rang through his ears, causing his eyes to widen in shock. Spike wouldn't say that, no, no he wouldn't. He understood more than that. "Why did you even agree to raise him if you're not going to let him call you dad? He deserves better than this. He deserves better than you."

"No, you're wrong- you're-." He mumbled as he kept trying to find a way to find Luigi, rapidly shaking his head. He couldn't bear the words, he couldn't listen, he needed Luigi. He needed Luigi just as much as Luigi needed him.

He couldn't live without Luigi. 

"Sweetheart, I think it'd be better off if Luigi went to a new family." Gemma's voice began to say, and Mario couldn't help but sob at the familiar words. "He needs someone who can offer much more than you can give him." 

Was he just bringing Luigi down? Luigi needed someone who could give him a family, someone who could love him the way he deserved to be loved.

Someone who wasn't a mess.

Like him. 

"What do you think you're gonna do, Mario? No matter how hard you'll try, you'll just turn out like me." Mario felt his knees give out from beneath him as he heard his father's words, pressing his hands against his ears. No matter how hard he pressed, he could still hear it just as loud. "He's gonna suffer, and it's gonna be because of you." 

Something snapped, and all of a sudden he was back in that mystical place of clouds and pipes, swirling through the air as though he was on his way to heaven.

Not that he deserved to go to heaven.

"DAD!" He heard that familiar scream and turned his head, seeing Luigi on the end of a stone platform. All of a sudden he was flying through the sky, wearing a weird brown suit, watching Luigi take slow and steady steps backwards. 

Mario flew towards the platform, landing on it and beginning to make his way towards him. But why was he running so slow?! Hurry up! He told himself, but before he knew it, Luigi was falling.

Falling.

Falling.

He kept moving towards the platform, finally collapsing to his knees in front of it and looking down, his heart stopping as Luigi went plummeting towards the lava. 

Laughing was heard behind him, and a large shadow loomed over him. But he couldn't tear his eyes away from Luigi, tears streamed down his cheeks as he finally screamed.

"LUIGI!"

Mario sat up, absolutely drenched in sweat, looking around frantically. He was met with the golden bedroom he had been situated in last night within the Princess' Castle. He rubbed a hand against his forehead in an attempt to gather himself and retain his breathing.

What kind of dream was that? It seemed like it was straight out of his worst imaginable nightmare. 

"Shitting hell." He whispered to himself, standing up and walking into the side bathroom to try and clean himself up, knowing he wouldn't be able to handle being sweaty and sticky all day. 

Peach had told him yesterday that she was going to be training him, though he honestly doubted it was going to be that hard. Sure, this world was strange and different, but he liked to think he had enough life experience to be able to manage it just fine. Being the captain of the Football team and even sometimes playing fun games on the weekends with his old high-school friends has left him very physically fit, and adding his almost daily gym visits to that… Well, Mario has an advantage.

After bathing and cleaning himself up, Mario left the bathroom, images of Luigi had began to fling through his mind as soon as he had allowed himself to relax, and that sickening feeling of guilt had returned.

You should have held onto him sooner.

Mario shook his head at the voices, squeezing his eyes shut. He already felt guilty enough about it, did his mind have to keep reminding him of how royally he had failed his brother?

No, his kid.

Did he deserve this? Is this karma for not letting Luigi call him dad? Now he might never get the chance to be a dad to Luigi, this amazing kid who deserves nothing but the best.

But he only wanted you, and you threw that all away. 

"Mario?" His head turned at the sound of Princess Peach's voice. She had apparently knocked, but he had failed to hear it. Probably because he was too absorbed in his own head.

He couldn't keep doing that, it wouldn't help him save Luigi. 

"Yeah?" He called to her as he grabbed his clothes and quickly shoved them on. There was a bitter feeling in his stomach that he was staying in this beautiful castle whilst his kid was god knows where, suffering and probably looking for him.

"We have breakfast made in the dining room, and then we have a long day ahead of us." Had Luigi had anything to eat? He knew damn well the slice of toast he'd had the night before wasn't enough. 

"Umh, yeah okay. Be right out." After locating his boots at the end of the large bed, he slipped them on and left to greet the Princess, who smiled down at him softly. "Hey."

They made their way to a small balcony with a two person table. Mario sat down and gaped at the view. It showcased the entire Kingdom, all the little mushroom people walking about going on with their day to day lives, which reminded him that this was their normal.

What a good normal it was.

"This is my favourite view in the entire castle." Peach told him, and Mario returned his gaze to her. He felt that if he wasn't desperate to get his kid back, he could actually become pretty good friends with this woman.

Every time he tried to think of something else, however, images of Luigi consumed every single thought. He couldn't stop seeing him falling, downwards towards that lava.

"Luigi would love this." Mario told her, his voice small as he stared at his plate of food. It looked delicious, but he couldn't bring himself to eat it. Not whilst he didn't know if Luigi was eating anything.

"Really?"

He smiled, almost fondly. "When he was a kid, or actually even now, he's always wanted to be a Prince. I raised him on fairytales about Princes and Princesses and his dream was to live in a castle and live that kind of life," at the way Peach smiled, he felt brave enough to continue talking about it, "I've always tried my best to give him that life he wanted, even though we've always struggled with money. I used to want to be a doctor, but he came along and just, he changed everything I had planned for my life for the better. I can't imagine life without him, my dream was to just get him that castle he always wanted, but now I don't know if I can save him." 

The woman shook her head, and Mario wondered how her crown stayed on her head through all the movement she did. 

"We're going to save him. There's no doubt about it. Let's take you to the training area, then we can go sooner rather than later."

Mario wasn't going to argue with that, though he wondered how this world worked, if a training arena came out of a giant question block?! It reminded him of them 'lucky blocks' or something from that game Luigi played all the time. 

"Watch and learn." The Princess told him before charging and darting through the course. Mario watched in awe at just how strong this woman was, perhaps she was even stronger than him?

Upon a closer glance, Mario saw the muscular arms that were concealed behind the Princess' gloves. They pretty much were the same size, if not a bit smaller than his own. She clearly was a woman who ruled with both her fist and her heart, and he respected that.

She had grace in every step she had, and if Mario wasn't determined to save Luigi, he was sure that he wouldn't be able to do it.

Once she was right back in front of him, she crossed her arms and began to explain. "You have two options. You could try to do it yourself, or you could use these things called power ups to help you. They're items that give you special abilities."

What was the point of using a Power-UP if he might not have access to them during their rescue mission? With that, he braced himself and charged towards the course.

Well, he didn't want to brag, but…

Okay, he did want to brag. He beat it on the first try.

"How did you do that?!" Peach asked, her jaw dropped in surprise. "I mean- I beat it on the first try too, but I grew up here! You- you, you did it the first time and you've only just got here. I need to know how you did that." 

"Buff dad energy." Mario told her blankly, remembering with fondness how Luigi would always say he had that. He then remembered she wasn't from Earth and then decided he should clarify. "I mean uh- I do a lot of sports and work out at home."

The woman smiled and nodded, before turning to look at the horizon. "We got a long journey ahead of us."

"Yeah, we do. But it'll be worth it."

"Yeah?" The woman hummed softly, and Mario smiled whilst looking down at his knees.

"Yeah, because then you can meet Luigi." 

"What's he like?" The woman asked, and though Mario could tell it was just her attempt as trying to uplift his spirits, he decided to indulge in her efforts anyway.

"Well, he's very shy and jumpy, but when he's comfortable he's the loudest and funniest kid you'll ever see. There's never a day where he's not making a joke, or jumping around at anything and everything, no matter what situation we're in he always finds the light, making it into a game. He- he knows I worry about him, so whenever we're in a more than stressful situation, he tries to make it seem less serious than it is." Mario thought fondly back to all the times Luigi has hummed 'mission impossible' whilst they were trying to do something. 

"His favourite colour is green, and he wears a matching hat as mine. I bought it for him the day he was born. He's fifteen, and despite being that age he's really small, around five feet. Though I think he's going to have a growth spurt but I dread the thought because then I won't be able to ruffle his hair anymore." He laughed softly. "He's also super smart, he graduated High School already, when most graduate at eighteen, and so many colleges in our country wanted him to attend."

"You really do love him, don't you?" Peach asked, though she knew the answer. Mario did too.

"I do. I'd do anything for him, I love him more than life itself. I just wish I'd shown that more, because now I don't know if I'll be able to again." A knowing look flashed across her features before she nodded, reaching her hand out and resting it on his shoulder.

"Then, when we find him, you can tell him as many times as you want." Mario smiled and nodded, wondering what Luigi was doing at that very moment. 

____________

Luigi winced as the ropes dug into his wrists as he was pulled towards a hot air balloon. He had no idea where he was, or what any of this was. He knew of other planets, and how they could potentially have life on them, but he never imagined he'd be on another one. This was unbelievable.

Despite knowing he probably wasn't there, he'd been looking everywhere for Mario, clinging to the hope that he would come and save him. It was a false hope, however, as he was nowhere to be seen. He was afraid, yes, but even though he was he wanted his dad to be somewhere safe.

Maybe if you never showed up, he could've been a doctor.

His mind berated him, but he shook it off. Now was not the time for his own self doubts. He recalled all the times where he had sat against the wall as Mario talked to Gemma in the kitchen, her trying to encourage him to place Luigi in a foster home so he could pursue the dreams he used to have.

Each time Mario had said no. Mario had fought for him, every time. No matter who tried to take Luigi away from him, Mario would always come for him. So he just had to hold up until then. 

Though he had to admit, being somewhere unfamiliar, with all the strange sounds and feelings without Mario there to hold his hand, he didn't know what to expect. 

Luigi hadn't even realised he's frozen, until he was being roughly yanked forward, falling straight onto his arm. He gasped sharply as he felt something crack, a sharp cry leaving his lips.

Luigi sat in the Principal's office, sniffling quietly as he clutched his aching arm. He had been struggling to stop crying, the stabbing jolts that shot through his arm every few seconds. Tears were still streaming down his cheeks, but there was a boulder in his throat and he could no longer form any words. 

The Principal sighed, his sharp gaze on the perpetrator of his aching arm. A senior, who found it far too amusing that an eleven year old had made it to freshman year. The bullying had been relentless since then, but Luigi hadn't echoed a word of it to Mario, which he was now regretting.

"What are you going to do? Expel him? He's so close to graduating senior year, and that kid is about to ruin his future." The mother of the child spoke, bringing Luigi to lock his gaze to the floor. 

"Ma'am, he attacked an eleven year old. A freshman, it is assault. Whatever his guardian wants to do, we will be supporting him on the charges." At that moment, the door slammed open and Luigi turned his head at the familiar sound of Mario's heavy footsteps. 

The senior's eyes widened at the sheer sight of Mario, and Luigi could admit his brother was intimidating. It was his buff dad energy, after all. 

Mario's gaze locked on him immediately, rushing forward and gently taking his arm in his hands, looking it over. Luigi would always remember the exact moment his worry turned to pure, seething rage.

"His arm is broken." He said flatly, standing up to his full height. "Who do you think you are, hurting him like that?" Mario questioned, his voice laced with barely hidden fury. 

"Sir, I hope you can be reasonable about this." The mother started, as if she didn't understand the severity of the situation. "The truth is that he's only a few months away from graduating, and we don't want his life to be ruin-."

Mario cut her off.

"The truth is that your son broke my brother's arm, he's eleven! How did you fuck up raising a child this badly? I've been raising him since I was sixteen and he'd never dream of hurting someone, what's your excuse?" He sneered, walking towards the woman and glaring down at her. "I'll be pressing charges. He assaulted an eleven year old."

Mario then turned towards the Principal. "Was there a reason for the assault?"

"We spoke to some students who witnessed it, we believe it was motivated by ableism." 

Luigi found he was scared for the two of them because of the way Mario looked. He'd never seen him this scary.

"So what? Just because he's different to you he deserved to be attacked like that?" He questioned, before regaining his composure and shaking his head. Mario was always good at that, no matter how angry he was. "Whatever. I need to take him to the hospital." 

"Sir, once again we are so sorry this has happened." The Principal apologised as Mario took his hand and pulled him up from the chair. "We will be more vigilant in looking after him. We've never had a student so young here before, but we will be taking the actions necessary for his safety."

Mario nodded briefly, and offered a slight smile. "Thank you. I'll let him rest up for a few days and then he'll be back in school."

He thought back fondly to how Mario had always kept him safe, always defended him with everything he had.

Now Mario wasn't here, and he didn't even know if he was close. The familiar feeling of a broken arm was present, but this time Luigi didn't have Mario to come and take him to the hospital.

He could only hope he'd find him. 

"Please hurry dad."

Chapter Text

Spike had begun to grow worried. Mario normally texted him in the morning - he had grown used to getting the 'good morning' text with the thumbs up emoji that he commonly sent. He was a bad texter, but it had become routine for him to receive one from his best friend.

He hadn't received one in two days. What was Mario doing? He hadn't seen them in Punch-Out Pizzaria, he hadn't seen them anywhere in fact. Hell, he'd even messaged Luigi and still hadn't received a response! Even when he'd offered to buy him the new game he'd been wanting.

That's what led him to where he was now, outside of their apartment, knocking on the door. "Mario? Are you in there?" He questioned, trying to ignore the nerves that were bubbling up more and more as he didn't get a response. "C'mon, Mario, you're worrying me a bit, man. Luigi? Are you in there, kid?" 

Still no response. Fuck. What was he supposed to do? Call the police?

No, he had to think rationally about this. It was extremely reassuring that Mario would never do anything stupid.

Call Pauline, yeah, that was a great idea! He pulled out his phone and clicked on her contact, breathing out in relief as she picked up. At least one of his friends hadn't disappeared.

"Pauline, hey. Have you heard from Mario recently, or better yet is he with you?" Spike quizzed, hoping to the God's that she had. 

He had never expected to come to care about someone this much, but Mario was like his brother. His friend hadn't gone awol on him like this since he- well. Spike didn't want to jinx it.

"I haven't actually. The last I saw him he was trying to fix the city wide plumbing issue." His heart stopped. Okay, so maybe Mario would do something stupid. 

"Shit uh, when did you last see him?" Pauline made a noise as she tried to think whilst Spike tried to ignore the deep pit forming in his stomach.

"Well, I was talking to him and Luigi appeared, then they both just went and did their own thing." So Luigi was with him too? This was just getting worse and worse.

"Pauline I think we need to call the police, I've got a bad feeling." He confessed. The pause that came after that was painful, and Spike felt as though something was punching him right in the lungs.

"Do you think his parents have done something again? The police never caught them."

"I hope not, but Mario wouldn't just disappear. I'm going to call the police." He told her, and Pauline breathed out a sigh.

"Right, where are you? I'll come over so we can speak to them together. It'd be better if I was there as well, just because we can both voice that Mario wouldn't do this." She said, Spike hummed in agreement and put the phone down.

Where are you Mario?

_____

Mario found that waking up the next morning was even harder. The knowledge that his little boy was still somewhere that he couldn't reach him was weighing down harder on him by the day. 

He found that he was beginning to question his own reality. What was life without having Luigi by his side? How were these people so sure that he'd be alive and well? Questioning Luigi's safety had always been his least favourite thing to do, but at least in his world he knew of the dangers and what to expect - here, he knew nothing! 

Once again, he found that he didn't have the appetite to eat. So, he had neglected eating with the Princess and had wandered aimlessly around the castle. Peach had told him they were setting off at around two, so he had quite a long time to dwell and depress over his thoughts.

Would Luigi even forgive him after this?

All the times Mario had failed to protect him were nothing like this. Luigi was alone in an environment that was sure to overwhelm him, and Mario wasn't there to soothe him. Every second his kid was there, was another moment he failed him. 

He didn't know how he ended up in the Palace gardens, sitting on a bench in the too beautiful gardens. 'Why did it have to be me who landed here?' He thought dully, his gaze downturned onto the pavement in front of him.

'Why didn't I land there? I could've stood a chance at escaping. Lu's just a kid.' It seemed that Mario's thoughts were out to get him today, betraying him more and more by the second. How was he supposed to get through this world? He was surrounded by people he didn't know, people he didn't know if he could trust.

"The gardens are quite lovely at this time of year." 

Mario lifted his head up, blue eyes landing on an older looking mushroom man, a Toad, he reminded himself. He had a cane, and one mighty looking mustache. "I wasn't paying much attention." He said honestly.

"Quite so. I can understand why - it is a father's worst nightmare to not know where their child is." He furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at him. The Toad in question didn't seem at all intimidated by his gaze, and was quite comfortable just sitting down beside him. "Where are my manners? I am Toadsworth, the Royal Advisor to the Princess. I believe you and I are quite similar." 

"In what way?" Mario questioned, seemingly more comfortable in talking to this man. He had quite the fatherly aura to him.

"We're both people who have been made to raise children when we least expected it." The old Toad chuckled, waving his arm. "Oh don't give me that look, I may not know much about humans but I know that you're quite young. It's uncommon to have children that young. Though I was quite old when I was blessed with Peach, I do believe we are quite similar.".

"Oh." Mario breathed out a sigh, running a hand through his hair, having taken his hat off during his sulk. This was Peach's father-figure. "I suppose you're right. Uhm, well yeah. I was sixteen, quite young. But, I always did my best by him. Things just keep going wrong."

He hated the tears that came close to falling.

'Real men don't cry, Mario.'

They do when their child is missing.

'He's not your son.'

Whatever he is, he's Mario's.

"It would appear your thoughts are against you." The man noted, bringing Mario out of his thoughts. "When Peach was young, she was so eager to explore, and one day she had fallen right off of the road and down to the drop below. Her arm had been broken, and she'd cried for days and days. I lived with the guilt of seeing her in pain for years, for quite some time I felt unworthy of the role of caring for her, but something changed."

Mario stared at him, blinking away his tears quickly. 

"She said she needed me. No, not that she needed me. That she wanted me." The Toad chuckled, tapping his staff into the ground. "It does not matter what goes on in our own head, but what our children think of us. Your child is counting on you, and he knows you're coming for him. He trusts you, and the trust of a child is something that doesn't falter easily. So prove to that boy that you're going to come for him."

"But what if he's hurt?" Mario managed to say, his voice croaky. "He's probably scared, and hurt. What do I do then?"

"Then you find him, you comfort him and make them fatherly oaths. Children are meant to tumble, and your son has been placed in a world where he wasn't supposed to. But as long as he knows he has a father coming for him, he won't give up." Toadsworth leant over to pat his arm, smiling at him through his mustache. "I'm quite excited to meet him. I'm sure he is a cute kid."

Mario chuckled. "He's fifteen, but he's small for his age. Looks about eleven, if you ask me. Very cute, he has the prettiest smile - beats anyone else's if you ask me." He gushed, unknowingly going into a ramble. "His skin just lights up, and if you look real close you can see a small dimple on his left cheek. There's always this sparkle in his eyes, but it's so much brighter when he smiles."

His cheeks heated up as he realised he was rambling. 

"Sorry." He apologised quickly, moving his hand up to rub the back of his neck. 

"But what ever are you apologising for? I confess if someone asks me about my Peach I could talk for hours." Mario smiled knowingly at the Toad's words. "Never-mind that. I'm sure Peach is looking for you, it'd be best if you go find her. She tends to be a worrywart." 

Mario nodded, before fixing his gaze. "Thank you, so much. I was beginning to doubt if I could make the journey, but you've really helped me." The Toad huffed, shaking his head.

"You could've done this journey either way, you just needed the small push. Everyone needs it at times." With a final nod and a smile, Mario put on his hat before heading back into the castle, where Peach was looking for him. 

"There you are! I was worried you'd just like- forgotten about me and set off yourself!" The woman laughed, and Mario felt obligated to shake his head. 

"Me? Never! Luigi would have my head if I ever forgot about a princess." He laughed, noting how the Princess' eyes softened whilst her smile grew wider.

"You seem more upbeat. Which is a good thing! It just means we have more hope, we always need hope. Now come on, I don't want to keep you waiting any longer." She ushered him to follow, which Mario quickly did. Finally, they could set off, and on a positive note too! "So, we need to go to the Kong Kingdom first, and I'm hoping they'll understand the situation! If not I'm sure you can use the power you have!"

"Power?" Mario questioned, raising an eyebrow as they walked to the door. 

"Yes - the buff dad energy thing." Peach said seriously, and Mario struggled to conceal his snort. Did she really think that was a thing? Oh, he was going to use this to his advantage. 

Finally they reached the doors, and Mario felt a wave of anxiety at the sight of all the people watching him. If he was honest, he used to be fine with crowds until he had Luigi. He had always found comfort in being able to hold his hand, and now he didn't have that small hand protectively locked in his.

His hand twitched uncomfortably, his heart rate began to pick up. Luigi wasn't just lost in this crowd, Luigi was lost somewhere he didn't know.

But he had Luigi's hand, but his hand quickly slipped from his when they were in that space in the sky. Every time he had a grip on Luigi, he slipped through his fingers. He wasn't quite sure when he'd be able to keep his grip firm.

Mario hadn't even noticed he was panicking until he felt a hand slip into his. His gaze turned upwards to glance at Peach, who was smiling reassuringly at him. 

She had noticed his hand twitching? 

She had taken his hand? 

For what?

The sole purpose of making him feel better? Reassuring him that it'd be okay? Had she noticed that holding someone's hand had become soothing to him? 

Better yet, she'd actually done something about it. 

Just how far was this woman willing to go for him?

Peach carefully guided him through the crowd and to a.. pipe? He quickly shut down the internal panic he felt surge up at the idea of going through another one of those demonic things, as Peach seemed quite confident in going through it.

"My Toads!" She started, being sure to keep her hand tightly in his. "Our days of terror are almost over! With the help of the Kongs, we will stop Bowser!"

"Uh, who's he?" A random Toad asked, pointing to Mario, who waved awkwardly. 

Peach glanced at him, then back to the Toad. 

"He's your future King Consort." She joked, and Mario chuckled at the sarcasm evident in her voice. Perhaps she was more like him than he thought. 

Apparently, Toads couldn't understand sarcasm. Or perhaps it was the way their hands were joined. Regardless, they all began to cheer again. Mario found it quite amusing, as if they'd believe a princess would actually choose him, a plumber. 

Peach laughed as well, before slowly helping Mario up onto the ledge of the pipe. She glanced at him and nodded. "Don't worry. This pipe is safe, trust me."

For some reason, he found that he did.

_______

"And you're sure that he's not sick, or visiting family?" Spike and Pauline both shook their heads. The police were standing with them in the hallway outside of Mario's flat. 

"We're the only family they have. Mario wouldn't just up and leave, he knows his responsibilities." Pauline insisted, and the officer nodded. He turned to the door and knocked.

"Mr Mario, it's the police. We're here to do a welfare check!" Just like Spike had both expected and dreaded, there was no answer. "If you don't answer we will have to unlock your door!"

Still no response.

The door was soon opened by the police, and Spike was quick to follow the officer in with Pauline. The apartment looked frozen in time, if that was a good way to describe it.

The TV was left playing, alongside a radio in the kitchen. There was a tea towel left on the counter along with dishes. The table was left uncleaned and the toaster was still plugged in at the wall.

All things that Mario never did. He was too much of a worry wart due to all of his paranoia. 

"Mr Mario?" The policeman searched the house, only to find nothing. He met back with Spike and Pauline, who were muttering amongst themselves about where he could be. "He doesn't seem to be here, neither does his son. Do you know of anyone they could be with?"

"Mario only trusts Luigi to be around us." Spike told him honestly, gesturing between him and Pauline. "He gets very worried. Their biological parents have pulled kidnappings a few times."

"I see, and are they currently in prison?"

Pauline gasped softly at the question as they both realised how serious this situation was turning out to be. 

"No, they were never found. But are you sure it isn't anything else?" Pauline questioned, both of them desperate to hear anything else other than that.

"This is the only lead we have right now, but we will also be checking the security footage from the past few days. If this is a kidnapping, we will be sure to find them both." The officer reassured them, but Spike didn't feel any more comforted.

"All the times it's happened they've only gone for Luigi. Mario could be hurt somewhere." Pauline fretted, bringing Spike to rest a reassuring hand on her shoulder. It was all they could do, they both felt the familiar feeling of dread from the last few times this had happened. 

"If that's the case, then we will find him."

_______

Mario and Peach walked through the forest. Mario marveled at how it was literally a forest made out of mushrooms. Like seriously? The one thing he hated most in his world was what this one was made out of! He was beginning to wonder if fate was just against him.

"Nervous?" Peach asked, in a clear attempt to start a conversation. Which Mario appreciated as he doubted he could make this entire journey move in silence.

"Who me? Yes." He nodded instantly, striking a laugh from the woman, which made him smile. "You know, when Luigi and I used to go on walks, or anything, he'd just randomly state facts that he learnt. It'd just be silent, and then all of a sudden he'd say something like-."

"WE'RE GOING ON AN ADVENTURE!" A voice sang, and Mario fixed his gaze on the little Toad who had moved ahead of them. "Come on guys!"

"What are you doing here?" Mario asked as Peach looked on with interest in her eyes.

"Toadsworth said you needed a chaperone!" Toad announced, winking at the two of them. "So don't worry, I brought my flute. Things are going to get real romantic up in here."

Oh.

Oh.

Oh shit.

"Oh, no no no." Mario hurried to say, shaking his head. "Relationship? No-no! We just met, and I have a family to think about!" Mario couldn't even begin to imagine what Spike and Pauline would think if he suddenly announced he was getting married.

He could almost hear the Elsa jokes.

"Oh.. You have a wi-." Toad quickly cut off Peach's question.

"Don't worry guys, you don't have to hide around me. I'm cool like that." Toad reassured them, moving his arms in a soothing motion. "I'll look away, don't worry." 

"No, it's not like that, Toad. Mario here needs help finding his son, that's all it is. I just made a joke earlier, we aren't getting married."

The Mushroom Man oh'ed, before shaking his head. "When you guys inevitably get together in the future, I want an honorable mention in your wedding speeches that I called it."

Mario doubted that would happen. As if he had time to actually fall in love with someone. 

Would Luigi even want him to fall in love with anyone? He wasn't very fond of big changes in his life, so he wasn't actually sure. 

"You can't marry a man you just met." Mario quoted Frozen, smiling fondly at the echo of Luigi's laugh in the back of his mind. That beautiful laugh. 

"Oh, so you guys are going for a slow burn thing?" The Mushroom asked, and the Princess promptly shoved an apple in his mouth to get him to shut up.

This was going to be a long journey.

_____

Luigi glanced around as he was pulled off of the hot air balloon and onto some sort of flying fortress. The trip had been long, and he could feel the break in his arm getting worse. 

"Request a presence with Bowser." One of the strange little men told a weird… turtle thing, who hurried off. 

Another strangle turtle thing, but like a magic turtle this time, appeared in front of him, looking at him with an unreadable expression. "You imbeciles! Why are you bringing a child to his nastiness?"

"He was trespassing." The imbecile responded, but Luigi could only dart his eyes between them frantically. Was he going to die? Yep, he was definitely going to die. Wow, and at the old age of fifteen. He supposed his proclaimed midlife crisis he had when he was seven was truer than he thought, Mario's opinion be damned.

"He's a child!" The wizard thing expressed, and Luigi wondered if he'd help him get out of here, but that thought was quickly dismissed when he turned to him. His feeling of fear had quickly returned. "Listen, child. Whatever he asks, answer. Please do not anger him, I cannot intervene whilst you're in his presence."

With that, he was guided away. He could feel the anxiousness swelling through him, ears beginning to ring as he braced himself for what was to come. His eyes darted around everywhere, looking for any possible escape route, but he couldn't find one. 

'Mario, where are you?'

He pleaded internally, before his gaze set on a strange looking throne room, decorated with more and more lava. Internally he wondered how long he'd have to be in the hospital if he ever got out of here. His immune system couldn't even handle having a cold. 

When he was in the hospital, Uncle Spike used to joke that his immune system had to be sacrificed in order for him to have his 'beautiful smile', to which Auntie Pauline would supply with 'beauty is pain'. 

 A loud thump was sounded, vibrating the floor beneath him, snapping Luigi back to his senses.

The back of his neck was tingling, spreading all throughout his spine as he shivered, despite the heat of the room. 

His gaze turned upwards to something that could only be described as a horrific monster. Luigi wanted to cry then and there, and he almost did. If he was brave enough to cry, which he wasn't. 

He cowered backwards, eyes shooting wide open before he was picked up by some sort of magic, and brought right towards the face of the monster.

A scared noise left his lips as he tried to regulate his breathing. He couldn't panic now, he couldn't panic now, he couldn't panic now.

This was just like.. yes, it was like when Mario's parents would take him. He just had to pretend he was the Prince, taken by the monsters, and he had to wait for dad to save him. Because dads always save the day.

It's what they do.

"What's your name?" The monster asked, and Luigi found the tingling was spreading to his arms now. The arm that he could feel, anyway.

"Uh- Luigi." He mumbled, avoiding the beast's attempts of making eye contact.

"Well, Luigi. I'm not sure if you're aware, but I'm about to be married and take over the world." He announced, and Luigi wasn't sure if he should congratulate him or allow him to complete his speech.

"Oh uh, yay?" He tried, breathing out in relief as his response didn't result in his death.

"But I have a problem. There's a human travelling with my fiancé." Oh no. "He looks like you, if not a bit older. Do you know him?"

What would Mario do?

Think, Luigi, think!

"Uhm, no?" He wasn't even sure of the answer himself, if he was honest. 

"Tough one, I see. Well, it'd be a shame if you were to lose that broken arm of yours entirely, no?" The beast wrapped one finger around his arm, Luigi tried to ignore how it only took one finger to wrap around his entire arm.

Before he started to squeeze.

He released a small scream, shaking his head back and forth as tears brimmed the corners of his eyes.

He squeezed harder, and Luigi began to sob as he felt another break.

"Okay, okay!" He knew Mario wouldn't want him to get himself hurt, right?

You're letting him down.

"He's my dad, Mario! He's raised me since he was sixteen and he's the greatest dad in the world!" He spoke through hiccuping sobs. "And he'll be coming to rescue me, so you need to watch out!"

"Do Princesses find him attractive?!" The man screamed in his face, and Luigi almost shut down then and there.

"Anyone would be more attractive than you!" He screamed back, before screaming as he was thrown across the room. There was so much pain all over his body, he could hardly think.

As his vision began to darken, he heard one last thing.

"Throw him in the dungeon! We'll see how tough this Mario is as he watches me kill his son!"

Chapter Text

Spike had always hated Mario. Ever since he met him. 

No matter how hard he tried, Mario was picture perfect. Top of their class, Captain of the Football Team, worked at the store down the road and volunteered at the homeless shelter. He was just everything that everyone wanted to be. 

It didn't help the fact that he was kind, funny, handsome (not that Spike was looking) and just a great guy. He had always just assumed that he was full of himself, because someone that perfect had to have a perfect life.

What could ever be wrong with him? He was on a steady path to becoming a doctor, he was incredible at sports, he had dated the hottest guy in school, and the hottest girl. But of course at different times because he was just that perfect.

He couldn't do anything wrong! Spike hated it. 

So, throughout their years at school, he had vowed to make Mario's life a living hell. Which didn't actually go very well at all, as he just had too many friends to care.  It resulted in him trying to then top him in classes, but no matter how hard he studied, he was just always a few marks behind. 

Everything changed one day when he was walking down the hall and he heard frantic voices. He peered around the corner, spotting Mario sitting beside Pauline in an empty hallway, on the phone.

"He has what?" He questioned, his eyes seemingly full of tears. "Right, right uhm- call an ambulance, I'll uh- I'll uh leave work and meet you at the hospital. Please look after him. Thank you so much."

Mario lowered his phone and Pauline immediately pulled him into his arms as he began to cry. Spike's eyes softened as he watched this all go down. He'd never seen Mario like this.

"I can't- I can't do this on my own." He mumbled into Pauline's shoulder who quickly shushed him.

"You're doing an amazing job. Right now let's focus on getting him better, I'll go to the hospital with you, okay?" At Mario's small nod, she pulled away gently. "I'll go get you some water and then we will go, okay? We'll just climb out of a window or something." 

She quickly took off down the hallway, barely acknowledging Spike. Despite his better judgement, he walked towards him and sat down beside him. "You okay?" He asked, trying to ignore the incredulous look Mario gave him. "I don't exactly know what's happening but I know how bad illnesses can be."

The guy sighed and slumped back into the bench, resting his hands against his temples. "They're saying it could be meningitis - how could I have missed it? I mean- oh my god I'm such a failure." Spike didn't know what to say to that - Mario was speaking as though he was a parent. But they were only sixteen, so how could that be possible? 

"Some things are harder to see, especially when we're focusing on something else." Just like he had with Mario. He'd really failed to see what kind of person he truly was. 

"I've been focusing so much on making him happy and trying to make a good life for him that- that I forgot to check on his health and oh my god, I'm a terrible big brother." So it was his little brother. Perhaps his parents were away or something? 

"You're also sixteen, so things like this are always going to slip up. But you know now, and he'll uh- he'll be alright." Mario nodded, smiling weakly at him.

"Mario, I just checked the bus times. There's not another one coming for another hour." Pauline said as she approached the two of them; Spike found he didn't like the way the smaller guy tensed. What could he do to help?

"Say uh, I've got a car. I can drive the both of you?" He offered, smiling awkwardly as Mario and Pauline both turned to look at him in shock. "What? This sounds like it's serious." 

So that's how Spike and Pauline ended up in a hospital waiting room, with Pauline filling him in on basically the entire situation. Mario was raising his baby brother, and yet somehow he was keeping up his grades and doing everything he was? No wonder he was so stressed out! 

It really made him see Mario in a different light.

As he walked into that hospital room (Mario had said he could for some reason), he laid eyes on Mario whispering to a baby, who greatly resembled him. The baby in question was hooked up to machines, but was giggling at Mario nonetheless. By God, that smile. It was a beautiful smile. 

But seriously? Mario had all of this burden on him? It was incredible how he was doing so well right now. Spike now had more respect for him than he ever had before. 

"That's Luigi." Pauline introduced, before walking to Mario's side and resting a hand on his back. She had always been a support for Mario, but perhaps.. Mario needed an extra helping hand? 

"Say uh, Mario. Do you need me to get anything for you? I can pop over to your place and get an overnight bag packed for you if you'd like." 

He'd never forget how Mario smiled at him that day. 

The next time he saw Luigi, Mario had just led their football team to yet another victory.

Spike threw his arm around his shoulder as Mario punched his fist into the air, shouting out a 'Wahooo!' Pauline approached them, little Luigi held securely in her arms. He was looking much better, though the doctors had said he'd have long lasting effects. 

Not that it mattered right now. 

Mario looked at the baby with a smile, holding out his arms. "There's my piccolo!" The baby immediately reached his arms out, making grabby hands for his brother. 

Mario immediately took him into his arms, peppering kisses all over his face as the rest of the team cheered. 

"And- and look, Lu!" Mario said suddenly, gesturing to Spike. "This is your uncle Spike!" His eyes widened as he looked to Mario, unsure. Bit his friend nodded with a smile, bringing Spike to wrap his arms around him and Pauline. 

"Smile!"

They all looked towards the camera, offering the brightest smiles they had. From then on, they were family. 

Spike looked at the photo frame on his desk, sighing softly. There still was no sign of the two of them, the Police had practically searched the entire city. He feared that they'd gotten into something way bigger than them.

Now he was scared they couldn't beat this obstacle. 

Their little family had been torn apart, and he was scared that he couldn't protect them from this one like he had all them times before. 

______

Luigi screamed as he dropped down, clinging to the bar of the cage with the one arm that he could use. He yelped as he landed with a hard thud, daring to look over the side and staring down at the lava, his eyes wide with terror.

He was going to die here, wasn't he? 

He looked around, his gaze frantic as he tried to take in the new environment. Oh my god, there were.. so many animals here. Or people, he supposed. After all, he'd just been imprisoned by a giant turtle! 

"Welcome to your new home." 

His head turned at the sound of a childlike voice, blue eyes landing on a… star thing? 

"This isn't my home. This is a prison. There has to be some kind of way out of here." He insisted, to try and reassure himself, if nothing else. This was fucked up, he was just a kid! A kid who was supposed to be running a plumbing business with Mario! 

But you let Mario down by not going to college.

No, he'd never let Mario down. 

"There is no escape. The only hope is the sweet release of death." The star announced, and Luigi found that he really liked that star. It deeply resonated with him and his internal thoughts.

"My King!" Someone whispered. Luigi was beginning to hate this place already, there were far too many people. "It's a child! King Bowser has locked up a child!" 

"Are you alright, young one?" A noble, poshish voice questioned. It was a penguin! A penguin! Oh my god, Luigi couldn't help but wonder if this could be like the Penguins of Madagascar because that would be so cool! 

"Oh uh-." Now that Luigi thought about whether he was okay, he found that… Well, he was. Yes, he was absolutely terrified. However, this wasn't his first time being kidnapped and he knew Mario would always come and save him, but he didn't know where dad was. Okay yes, he wasn't okay. "My arm is broken, and I have no clue where I am, or where my dad is. We got separated in this weird void with pink clouds and loads of different pipes." 

"Are you not from this world?" The Penguin King asked, and Luigi shook his head. A few gasps came from around the dungeon. "You are human, they're rare in our world, and very highly valued. Usually regarded as royalty. Like the Princesses of the Mushroom Kingdom and SarasaLand."

"Uh, the scary monster thing said that my dad was travelling with his fiancé. He's probably coming to rescue me." Luigi held his dad in extremely high regards, remembering all of the times where Mario had picked him up when he had fallen, cursing at his bad knees to make him feel better. 

"Is that so?" The Penguin King smiled softly at him - Luigi found he liked him quite a lot. He reminded him of Pauline. "Tell me more about this father of yours. Perhaps he shall be the hero we all need." 

He grinned, nodding his head eagerly. It seemed as though the penguin was attempting to distract him from the pain, and it was working! "My dad is great! He's super-duper strong, and smart! He protects me from our world, and I'm sure he'll come and rescue us all!" Thinking about Mario made tears spring to his eyes. He didn't like being away from his dad, especially in this world where he had no idea where he was. "He always gives me the best hugs. I miss him." 

"Rest assured, young one, a father like that will always come looking for his child." Luigi nodded at him softly, before daring to look over the edge of the cage again. He was definitely going to get heatstroke, already he was feeling too hot in his own skin to be normal. The tingling was back, spreading all through his body. He fidgeted, desperately trying to find a comfortable sitting position, but was unable to find one. 

"A father like that will only fail - death shall soon meet him." The star giggled, spinning around. Luigi took a closer look at the star, noticing the lifeless look in its eyes. Creepy. "Life is hopeless. We shall all meet death sooner or later."

"Where is your mother, Lumalee? I doubt her lady Rosalina would allow you to stay here." The star giggled once again whilst Luigi wondered how big this world was. There were talking stars and the stars had a like… giant star mother, maybe? He wasn't quite sure. 

"Perhaps she has realised that hope is all lost."

There was another series of groans. Man, Luigi wanted to get out of here.

His cage jolted, and he was carried upwards, a scream erupting once again. "The king has requested your presence." 

Okay no, he wanted to go back to the dungeons. But it looked like he wouldn't be getting that choice. 

_______

The travelling had been taking days, and he didn't feel like he was making much progress in getting closer. They'd seemed to pass so many biomes, even one with these odd looking dinosaur things! Mario bet that Luigi would love a dinosaur, but then that just reminded him he had no idea where his kid was.

There was a sickening feeling that had begun to swell in his stomach, the realisation that even if he got Luigi back, it could only be temporary. This is the final nail in the coffin, the final straw that Gemma needed to take Lu out of his custody.

The very thought terrified him. 

He had a welfare check…when was it? Yesterday, he missed the welfare check, they were missing. They were going to take Luigi away. He hadn't even realised he wasn't looking where he was going until he tripped and was sent flying backwards. 

-

Peach noticed that Mario had been oddly quiet. The entire trip he'd been rather talkative - granted it had mainly been talk about Luigi, but she had really enjoyed talking to him about his kid. It felt like she knew Luigi, despite having never met him. 

But today, he was just… quiet? Unfocused? She wasn't quite sure. It wasn't exactly the best place to be phased out as they were walking across the sides of very unstable cliffs. Peach was beginning to grow worried that he was going to go flying off of the edge of one. 

She definitely jinxed it as Mario all of a sudden tripped and went flying backwards. She rushed forward to catch him, wrapping her arms securely around his waist and looking down at him with concern in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" She asked, taking the chance to observe him a little bit closer. His eyes were very blue, noticeable from a long distance away. However if you looked closer, you could see the bags under his eyes from years of restlessness. Despite that, he was still… beautiful.

'Just what have you been through, Mario?' She thought to herself, feeling her cheeks heat up as their eyes locked. Why was her heart racing like this? She'd only known him for a little less than a week. Peach felt as though she could connect with Mario on an entirely new level.

'No, stop it. He has a kid, he must be married - he even mentioned his wife! What was her name, Pauline?' She paused, thinking for a second. 'Pauline must be lovely if she is with someone as amazing as Mario.'

"Uh, you can let go of me." Mario told her, resulting in Peach's cheeks heating up. Immediately she let go of him and took a step back. It was easy to get lost whilst holding him, she just wanted to wrap him up in her arms and keep him safe. But he didn't need that, she had to remind herself. He was equal in strength to her.

"Right, right, sorry! You're just so.. small." She tried to play it off smoothly. "Like you'd slip through a crack." Mario huffed, crossing his arms with a pout. Cute. 

"I'll have you know I'm just below average height. It's not my fault you're insanely tall." He told her, eliciting a laugh from Peach. 

"Playful teasing, lingering touches.. you guys are a love story waiting to happen." Toad told them with a light hum to his voice, and the two of them sent him a sharp glare, Mario going as far as to punch him in the arm softly.

"Listen, Toad. I appreciate you trying to make light of the situation, but love is the last thing on my mind right now." Peach told him firmly, to which Mario nodded in agreement. Her heart stung a little, but she understood he had different priorities. "Our kingdom is in danger, and so is Mario's child. We need to focus on reaching the Kong Kingdom." 

"You're right. Sorry, Princess." Toad apologised, and Peach smiled whilst patting his shoulder.

"We should find somewhere to make camp." She announced, subconsciously reaching out to take Mario's hand so he didn't trip again and beginning to lead the way to someplace that she knew was safe.

________

"Still no sign of him anywhere? Are you looking carefully enough?!" Pauline asked, tucking her hair behind her ears to try and relieve the heat that was building on her face. She had begun to neglect her duties as mayor, still too desperate to try and find her missing family members.

"Ma'am, we are doing everything we possibly can. It might be possible that.. that Mario is dead somewhere. His parents have a history of violence towards him, and perhaps this time they were unfortunately successful." The officer had already taken his hat off, and Pauline couldn't help but begin to shake her head. Mario, dead? After all their years of not leaving each other's side?

All of the years of supporting each other, being there? They'd been friends for thirty years, she didn't want to think he was gone.

But as much as she wanted to lash out, refuse to accept it… she knew that it was the likely scenario of what happened. "So that's just it? Are we just going to declare him dead?" She questioned, slumping down in her chair, her gaze blank and dumbfounded. 

"I am sincerely sorry. We aren't going to declare him dead, but we would like to focus our search onto Luigi. There's a high chance that he's still alive somewhere." The officer tried to explain gently, but Pauline could hardly take in anything. 

Pauline and Mario were sitting in the hospital together, it was late at night but they both found that they couldn't sleep. Mario claimed he had too much pain in his head to sleep, and Pauline believed that to be plausible. 

This was what, the second time they had taken Luigi from him? It was unbelievable that the police hadn't managed to catch and arrest them yet. She was beginning to think that they just didn't care enough to actively track them down. 

"Li?" She looked up at him, squeezing his hand gently to show that she was listening. Her friend was always rather quiet, but right now he was just silent. Like he was trying to suppress even his breathing. He was afraid, and that was something she didn't like. "Can you promise me something?"

"Of course, anything." She smiled softly at him, reaching her other hand out and placing it on top of his. Mario sometimes needed security, he felt safe when someone held his hand. Something Pauline never had a problem with doing, albeit being the reason why most people thought they were dating. 

She didn't even swing that way. 

"Can you promise me that if one day- if one day they're actually uh.. successful, you'll look after Luigi? You won't let him lose sight of himself?" Pauline felt her heart drop. A brief moment was all it took for tears to spring at her eyes. The thought of ever losing her best friend was too much to bear. "I want him to do great things, I want him to have a happy life, and if I die I want him to be with someone who'll remind him how much I love him."

"Mario, I don't want to promise that." She choked out, shaking her head softly. "I can't lose you, I won't. I need you." The dark thoughts filled her head, the image of losing Mario too much for her to bear. He was her platonic soulmate, she needed him. "I couldn't have done anything I have without you." 

Her heart felt like it was being squeezed out in her chest. Pauline truly had never felt as much fear as she did right now. Why did things have to be this way? Why couldn't they all just be a happy family? 

"Please, Li. He needs someone to be there for him. I- I know it's a lot to ask, but the thought of leaving this world when I don't know if he'll be okay is something I can't stand." Mario truly had sacrificed everything for Luigi.

At first, she resented the baby. Mario had done everything in his life in order to become a doctor, working incredibly hard every day just to achieve his dreams. When Luigi came along, Mario gave it all up in a heartbeat. She hadn't understood why - why was this baby so important?

But then she saw the light in Mario's eyes. The light she hadn't seen in years. Though the bags under his eyes grew deeper, the light in them overtook them easily. Mario was once again himself, he was happy. 

Sure, maybe their family was unconventional, but Mario wouldn't have it any other way. So neither would Pauline. Plus, Luigi was actually a very lovely child.

"I don't like the idea, but if it comes down to it, I will stop at nothing to keep him safe. I promise Mario."

"We need to find Luigi. Ask around, check security again. Instead of focusing on looking at them, look for their parents. If we can find them, we can find Luigi." She announced, wiping her eyes with her fists as she tried to regain her composure. If only for a few minutes, this meeting could be finished. 

"I am so sorry for what you're going through, ma'am." The officer sighed, standing up from the table. Pauline couldn't make eye contact with him, she just couldn't. He had blue eyes, bright blue eyes. The same ones Mario had - those beautiful eyes. The ones she'd never see again.

Mario and her would never get to have their joint wedding like they'd planned. No more trips to Disney, no more arcade nights where Mario and Spike would face off on the dance machine, no more spontaneous adventures, no more of them. 

As soon as the officer left, her composure broke. She swiped across the table with a broken scream, listening to the shattering of the glass and porcelain almost deafened the sound of her breaking heart. Almost. 

Despite the odds of their family, she had never seen it as broken. To her, it was beautiful. She couldn't have imagined being gifted with a better family, she couldn't have imagined having it torn away from her so suddenly. 

But it had happened. 

Their family had broken apart, and now it was impossible to pick up the pieces.

Chapter Text

Finally, they had reached just the outskirts of the Kong Kingdom. It was taking far too long for Mario's liking, but he also supposed part of that was his fault as he admittedly kept getting lost. It had been around a week now, they had travelled entirely on foot, and it was hard. Especially because a lot of the landscaping made entirely no sense.

Peach had been telling him quite a bit about the world around them. About Sarasaland, which was an entire empire, and how it was soon to be ruled by Princess Daisy, who oddly enough was his piccolo's age! She had apparently come through a pipe as a toddler a few years back, just like Peach had - he remembered her telling him. 

The thought of Luigi as a toddler stumbling through a pipe on accident and ending up here was a lot to think on.

'Perhaps I could introduce them both. Lu could finally have a friend.' He thought to himself. Sure, he loved spending time with him and always would, same as Spike and Pauline, but he knew Luigi needed to be around someone his age more often. 

But regardless, being away from his kid for a week, it was beginning to become really hard for him to handle. He had even begun to take it out on the small turtle things, Koopas, that had randomly attacked them on their journey. He went a little harsh on them, he had to admit. 

But Peach had said they worked for Bowser, and Mario really did not like Bowser. From his perspective, his actions were completely justified. 

"We'll rest here for the night." Peach announced as they reached a tree in the middle of a field. Mario nodded softly, before wandering off to the river nearby. He felt sticky, and gross - he'd never liked that feeling. It reminded him of too many things. Bad things.

He reached the river, throwing off his t-shirt and stepping into the water. He had more decency then to take off his jeans. Or maybe it was anxiety? 

Mario crouched down into the stream, running the water up his arms and chest. He could feel the sweat running down his back, and it was making him unbearably uncomfortable, he hated his back. He hated what it reminded him of.

Cautiously, he ran his fingers along what he could reach, before immediately withdrawing his hand at the tingle that spread down his spine.

"What were you trying to accomplish? Is this what you wanted?!" 

"No, no! Pa, I'm sorry- I-." 

Mario squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head. He couldn't think of this right now, he had to think of Luigi. 

"Pathetic! You're pathetic, you're going to get nowhere in life!"

He did get somewhere in life, and he loved what he did. His words couldn't affect him anymore, he had proved him wrong. 

Mustering up the courage, he sat down on his knees in the river, allowing the water to rush up his back, deeming that to be a better idea than to touch them. 

"It's a good idea to teach him to swim, Mario! You never know when he'll need it!" Spike insisted as they drove to the local pool. He'd started to get really weird about Luigi needing to know how to swim as it was a 'basic survival skill'. Honestly, he didn't mind. But he didn't know why he had to go as well. 

"It's not that. I don't understand why you both could've just taken him if you're so eager to teach him." He grumbled as he shoved a hand into his pocket to pull out Luigi's fidget toy, passing it to him paired with a quick kiss to the temple. 

"Mario. You really think Luigi would dare get in a pool without you there?" Pauline asked with a laugh, and yeah, she had a point there. New things were scary for Luigi and he liked to have him there. "It'll be fun! Besides, I just know you've been dying to show off that six-pack you've been hiding from us."

Not really? He was definitely well built, but he had a rounder stomach with larger hips and he'd always been okay with that. Besides, even if he did have a six pack he definitely wouldn't be showing it off anyway.

"I'd rather keep my shirt on." He told them, reaching his hand up to adjust his strap subconsciously. "You know Luigi doesn't like hugging people without them wearing a shirt." 

"I don't think the pool allows that." Pauline told him, shaking her head. "Lu will be fine for today. He will be under water anyway." 

Mario wasn't going to win this one, and he found that he was already dreading what was going to happen soon.

People were going to stare, they were going to look at him with their judgemental eyes, covering the faces of their kids or even leaving the building. Like he was something disgusting, something that needed to be hidden away from the world. 

 Well, he was used to that.

Why did he keep getting distracted? He couldn't afford to be distracted. Even in a completely different world, literally, his father's actions still held him in a chokehold. He couldn't escape it. 

Mario sighed, splashing the water in his face in an attempt to rouse himself, only to pause as he heard a gasp behind him. His head whipped around, eyes landing on Peach, who had her hand cupped over her mouth, gaze directed at his back.

His cheeks burnt in humiliation as he turned around fully, so Peach couldn't see. He was afraid to lift his head, too afraid to meet her gaze. He was afraid that a new person who he'd learnt to trust after only having Spike and Pauline, too afraid they would just look at him with that same disgusted gaze. 

That she wouldn't help him anymore. 

His back wasn't pretty, he knew that much. The stitched up, torn scar tissue with faulty stitches spread all the way across his back, in all different directions - some deep and some barely there. Some of them still remained welted, sticking up out of the skin. 

They were hideous. But at the time he had thought he deserved it, hence why he hadn't gone to the hospital, instead letting his mother stitch them up whilst scolding him for acting out in the first place. 

"Mario." He finally lifted his gaze to face the blonde woman. But instead of seeing the similar disgusted expression that he was so used to, he saw rage and.. protectiveness? "Mario, who did this to you?" Her voice was shaky, though it felt hollow. As though she had been through something like this before. 

Had she been through something like this before? Despite having spent the entire week with her, he didn't know much about her life other than that she wasn't from here and she ruled over the Mushroom Kingdom. 

"It was years ago, Peach. It's alright." He reassured her, climbing out of the river and shakily walking to put his shirt back on, not wanting to be out in the open anymore. "Honestly, you don't have to worry about it."

Hands were suddenly on his shoulders, and Peach was staring at him with frantic eyes. 

"I do worry! I worry because someone's hurt you before in the past and you're insistent on hiding it. I know we haven't known each other for long, but I care about you deeply." Peach told him as Mario stared up at her completely dumbfounded. "And if I ever see who did this to you I swear down I'll make them regret it."

Wow, okay. That wasn't something Mario expected. Peach was strong, yes, but he'd never seen her as the type to be so.. angry? Damn, maybe there was a lot more to her leadership than being gentle. 

Regardless, he smiled at her. He wasn't sure why that was his reaction, but it was. It wasn't even a big smile, a small one at best. Perhaps just even a lip twitch. She definitely had a way of making him feel better.

"I thought you were just going to wash up, but then you were gone for over an hour." Peach explained, and Mario wondered how it had even been that long. "I got worried something had happened." Her grip tightened ever so slightly on his shoulders. 

"Sorry." He let her guide him back to the tree, and sit him down on the ground. Which is when she finally let go of him. Mario was honestly puzzled about this entire thing. 

"You should rest, you still seem a bit dazzled. I'll go get some firewood." He'd expected her to walk off then, but she'd paused, giving him a calculating look. "Mario." 

"Yeah?" He asked her whilst adjusting his hat on his head, remembering back to all the times when he'd adjusted Luigi's for him.

"I hope you know that whatever has hurt you in the past, and whatever dares to hurt you now - I won't let them." Peach said firmly, and Mario was forced to realise the way his heart fluttered. He figured it must be from his building trust. "When we get Luigi back, the same goes for him." 

This woman had truly earned his friendship after all these years of not allowing anyone to get close. 

_________

"Peaches, Peaches, Peaches, Peaches…" 

Luigi stared up at the turtle with a confused gaze as he continued his… musical piece? This past week, the strange monster had been relentless with using him as his own personal punching bag, (though thankfully Luigi learnt he could change sizes and he was using his smallest form. Otherwise he'd be dead by now.) 

It seemed very.. odd. Sometimes the King was throwing hits and kicks at him, he had the bruises to prove it, but other times he was asking him for advice? For how to woo the Princess, but then wouldn't listen when he'd try to explain the Princess was double his age!

He did learn that she was a human, though. Which was interesting. 

Luigi's thoughts switched back to Mario, and how well he was handling being apart from him. He'd been dealing quite well, most of it he'd just completely disassociated from everything around him, becoming quite literally unresponsive.

It's something Mario had always told him that it was okay to do sometimes, but he shouldn't rely on it. Though the thing was that it was the only thing helping him cope with being away from the man he saw as his dad. 

When he wasn't disassociated, he was crying, wishing to go home. Sometimes wondering why Mario never wanted him to call him dad. Was he not good enough to be his son? No, he was sure he was. 

Was he? 

He was sure he was. Mario had given him all the love in the world, he didn't need to call him dad for him to be his dad. Though it would be nice.

"PEACHES! PEACHEEES! PEAAAAACHHHHH, PEACHHHHHAH." 

Luigi looked back over as the King appeared to have finished his song, trying to the ringing in his ears and the urge to flinch away. He certainly could sing, but his songwriting needed some work.

"So, what do you think? Not that your expertise is greater than mine." He boasted proudly. Luigi raised an eyebrow, before shaking his head.

"You really don't want to know what Peaches means where I come from." He commented, before yelping as he slammed down the piano cover and breathed fire in his direction. He narrowly dodged it, gaining a new burn on his already ruined shirt. It wasn't a comforting fact that he was getting used to the pain. "I- uh- I mean, yes, so good. Love song of the century for real. You should make your songs into an album, I know so many people would listen." 

The Turtle nodded proudly, and Luigi wondered how he was that stupid. He was autistic and even he could understand when someone was being blatantly sarcastic. 

Besides, he was a literal king, and an adult. Shouldn't he be smarter than this? Though he didn't know why he was even wondering about it as if the king knew he was being sarcastic he'd be dead. 

Just then, one of the smaller turtle guards walked into the room, holding his spear with a shaking grip. "King Bowser!"

The King nodded to show that he was listening, and Luigi found he suddenly had a very bad feeling.

"Sire, I just came from the borders of SarasaLand, I barely escaped with my life!" The turtle started, Luigi found his helmet funny. "The soldier that the Princess has been training, the one in the red, he's unbelievably strong! He's defeated many of our troops, without even breaking a sweat, your nastiness. He's undefeatable!"

He couldn't control the laugh that left his lips.

"He must rival in strength to the Princess." The King pondered, before glaring at Luigi. This entire situation was both terrifying and also straight out of a weird fanfic he's sure he read once. News flash: the bad guy didn't win. Despite some people in the comments wanting him to. 

He wondered if Mario had fallen in love with the Princess. He'd been telling him he should go on dates more but the only time he had gone on a date, it'd been with a man who ended up ghosting him because Mario just sat there awkwardly the entire time. 

Not that his dad was bothered.

"Send out more spies, and send his kid back to the dungeon." 

He was soon met once again with the lava pit and the cage, which honestly had become a comfort to him rather than a place of fear. The Penguin King often talked to him through his meltdowns so they were easier to deal with, and Luigi had even been teaching them some songs that he knew. 

It had been fun to teach them 'Wrecking Ball' as they all swung their cages.

Being the only child in the dungeon (apparently the star was around fifty, which made no sense), most of the prisoners had taken to caring for him, offering him half of their rations, which he'd always denied. He could barely stomach his own, after all. 

"Are you well, Luig- what has that savage done to your arm?" The Penguin King questioned, and Luigi shrugged. He could hardly even feel the new burn over all the rest he was feeling. He could understand that the guy had anger issues but c'mon, he didn't need to take it out on him.

"He got mad at me." Luigi said flatly, staring down at the floor of the cage.

"Perhaps one day he will give you mercy. By death, of course." Lumalee chimed, and Luigi found he didn't even have the energy to laugh at him anymore. He just wanted his dad, now. He wanted to go home. 

"My dad is on his way. They said he's defeated many of the King's guards on the way, without even breaking a sweat." He told everyone, phasing out after everyone started to excitedly whisper to one another.

His eyes dulled, and he once again lost control of his senses as he stared at the wall of the prison. The last thought on his mind was if dad would manage to save him.

_________

Peach approached again after around an hour. Mario had taken off his hat and rolled up his sleeves. He had a gut-wrenching feeling that something was happening to Luigi, and he didn't like that idea at all.

She threw down the firewood, before brushing the excess off of her gloves and staring at him with sad eyes. "Are you thinking about your son?"

He nodded softly, squeezing his hands around his hat. "He's not really- he's not really my son." She raised her eyebrows at him. "I've never let him call me dad, whenever he tried to I'd always tell him he can't." He laughed bitterly. "I didn't think I deserved to be called dad." 

Peach sat down beside him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Tell me. I'm a good listener." She offered, and despite years of keeping everything to himself, he found he wanted to. Perhaps it was because of that? He wasn't sure. 

"I uh… Well. My parents weren't ever there for me. When I learnt how to dress myself they stopped being there, they didn't care for anything in my life. The only time that they were there is when I was getting the shit beat out of me." Saying it aloud really made him face the brutal honesty of the situation. "I never had a childhood. The only person I had was Pauline." 

Peach nodded, still not saying a word. She was encouraging him to go on, but Mario was scared to say the words he'd been thinking for fifteen years aloud. 

"I wanted to be a doctor. I wanted to help people, it was my dream for years. I was getting the top grades, and I was on a steady path to achieving what I always dreamt of doing." He shook his head. It's not that he regretted giving up his wish, but sometimes thinking about it left a bad taste in his mouth. "You see all the time that doctors are heroes, and I wanted to be a hero. It sounds silly, I know." 

"It doesn't." Peach told him, before going quiet again. He really appreciated how she wasn't showing him any pity right now - he didn't need pity. He realised Toad had sat down at his other side. 

"Anyway, uhm- when I was around sixteen, my ma and pa came home and well, there he was. My baby brother." A smile grew on his face. "He'd just been born, he was so beautiful. I loved him the moment I laid eyes on him. But then I found out they hadn't gotten any supplies for him, nothing. They just… didn't care. It was even worse from when I was born, they just dumped everything onto me." 

"So, I spent all of my savings I'd put towards becoming a doctor one day into buying everything he needed. Pauline helped me find everything, and when we were in the store I found these two hats - a red and a green one. It all just set in stone then, and I gave him his name then." The Princess offered him a soft smile, nodding for him to go on.

"When he was six months old, he got sick. Really, really sick. I didn't have the money to pay for the hospital bills." He swallowed thickly. "My parents wouldn't pay for them either, and I knew I had to do something. Otherwise he'd die. So I had to give him up. We both got put into the foster system, and for a good few weeks they separated us. I got him back with me eventually, but I knew I only had one more year with him before I'd lose him again, because I could only stay in the foster system until I was eighteen. I didn't want him to be alone without me." 

The memory of Luigi screaming for him as he moved to get into Spike's car flashed through his mind. The way the toddler had his hands reached out as Gemma held him - he had wanted to run to him then and there, but he hadn't been allowed. Gemma had always hated him.

"I fought tooth and nail for him, until I got custody a few months later and adopted him a year or two after that." Mario smiled fondly at the memory of holding Luigi so tightly after signing the adoption papers. "Ever since then I've been trying my damned hardest to give him the childhood I never had. Everything he wanted I got him, and he's still the sweetest kid. But I was always scared, I was scared that if I let him call me dad then I'd become like my pa. I don't want to ever hurt him like that."

-

Peach stared at Mario with tears threatening to fall. He had been through so much and yet he was so incredibly strong. Raising a child, fighting in a world he'd never been in for said child and even surviving a horrible childhood? He was… he was incredible.

The fact that he was willing to let Luigi go so he could live was heartbreaking. 

She was glad he opened up. By the amount he talked, she doubted he'd talked about it to many other people. He needed to talk though, because if he bottled it up he'd eventually crack.

"That makes you a better dad than your pa ever was." Toad said gently, tapping his arm comfortingly whilst Peach nodded in agreement. Though she didn't know if that was what Mario needed to hear, she felt like he needed deeper validation than that. 

"You know," She started softly, looking up at him with sad eyes, "I have scars that I hide too." Mario looked up at her with confusion, before she pulled down her gloves, all the way off, revealing the burn scars all the way down to her fingertips. Ridges were formed upwards from where she had skin grafts applied.

"Bowser and I used to be friends when we were little, until one day."

Peach smiled as she got ready for the day. King Morton was coming to discuss things with Toadsworth, meaning she could spend the day with Bowser. They'd been friends for as long as she could remember, and they always met up when their fathers were doing business. 

It was always the highlight of her day, seeing her friend. They always did fun stuff together, having adventures. Most of the Toad's were already adults so there weren't any other kid around there. Which was quite upsetting. 

The teenager ran to the meeting room and opened the doors, smiling at Bowser as he looked at her with an equally big grin. Their fathers waved them off dismissively as they asked for permission to leave, before they were hurrying down the hall.

Peach was not in her usual outfit, instead choosing to wear her white trousers and a nice laced pink top Toadette had bought for her. She still had her signature heels on though, she didn't feel comfortable in anything else.

"I have to show you something." Bowser told her, earning a nod before he then pulled her through the Kingdom and out into the Mushroom Forest. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration, she'd never been out into the forest without Toadsworth or a guard, as they always deemed it unsafe.

Why was Bowser taking her out here? She couldn't help but question it. Usually they stuck to the gardens or on the odd occasion, they went out to lunch. 

Soon, they were pretty far out. Peach couldn't see the castle any longer, which scared her. She had a bad feeling in her gut, but she was safe right? She had Bowser with her. Why wasn't that comforting anymore?

"Peach." Bowser started as they reached a roofed area in the forest. It was uncomfortable to think how no one would be able to see them if something happened. "There's been something I've been meaning to talk to you about." 

She offered him an unsure grin, nodding to his statement as a reassurance that she was listening. 

"I- ugh, this is hard." Bowser chuckled nervously. "I like you, I like you a lot. We should be together." He confessed, and Peach felt a pang of guilt at the realisation that she didn't return his feelings. For a few moments, she glanced at him awkwardly as she contemplated the gentlest way to let him down. "Peach?"

"Bowser, you're a very dear friend of mine and I don't want to lose what we have. But I can't return your feelings." She smiled sadly. "I'm sorry." 

Instead of Bowser being understanding, like she'd expected, he wasn't. He was.. he was angry. She had never seen so much rage in her best friend's face up until this point. 

She suddenly found that this wasn't her best friend. This was someone else. Someone dangerous. 

Peach began to take slow steps backwards as he took ones forward. Before she could turn to run, a large fist was being met into her stomach and she went flying backwards into a tree. 

She whimpered softly as the wind knocked out of her, throwing her head back as she tried to withstand the pain. She lifted her gaze towards Bowser just in time to see the flames shooting her way. 

As quick as she could, she jumped to the side, though she screamed as she felt a burning pain in her left arm. She looked down at it, seeing as her skin reddened with the severe burns just landed on her skin. "Bowser, stop this!" She cried as she rolled over in another failed attempt to dodge his blows. 

When her right arm was met with the same burns, she suddenly lost all of her strength and slumped down into the ground, her eyes staring defeated at the environment around her. 

Bowser's feet came into her sight, and she lifted her gaze to meet his. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, both of pain and sadness. Peach could hardly believe Bowser had betrayed her like that.

"I'm going to leave you here to rot. No one here can find you, and even if they do, they don't want a broken mess of a Princess." He chuckled, his voice much deeper than it had been before. Her heart squeezed in her chest, and she was almost certain it just might rupture. "One day, you'll be forgotten about. Everybody around you will leave, and all you'll have left is me. Then you'll come running back." 

"You're a monster." She spoke finally after a few minutes, mustering all of her remaining energy to speak the words. Bowser just laughed, before turning and walking away, leaving her helpless in the forest. 

"A couple hours later the guards found me, and Toadsworth declared war on the Kingdom." Peach finished, smiling weakly as Mario held one of her arms in his hands. He looked stricken. "At first, I used to think I should've just accepted his offer, then I could've spared myself the pain. I almost went to him and apologised, I almost went to be with him." 

He lifted his gaze, his expression a perfect mix of both pain and confusion. It seemed as though he was almost wounded by her own story. She had tried to ignore the way she had jolts shooting up her arm the moment he touched her, she ignored the way her mind told her to keep him in her arms and to never let him go.

"What stopped you?" Mario asked, finally. Peach sighed, reaching a hand up to brush the hair that had fallen over his eyes to the side. He had beautiful eyes. 

"I couldn't let him win - I couldn't let his words stop me from being who I want to be, from finding who I wanted to love." 

She pulled away from his grip and crouched down, resting her finger on a fire flower and allowing herself to absorb the powers. She brought a fire ball from her hand and shot it at the wood on the floor, starting a fire. A smile formed on her face as Mario looked at her in awe. 

"There's many galaxies and universes out there, and I didn't want to settle for one I didn't love when I knew the person who's right for me was out there somewhere - I couldn't let Bowser stop me." She explained as Mario stood to walk to her side. Toad had sat down, playing his flute, which he had told her was his 'wingman flute'. "Just like you shouldn't let your past stop you from being a dad to your son. From what you've said, he loves you just as much as you love him."

Mario chuckled, shoving his hand in his pocket and pulling out a weird… box thing. "I don't know how to turn this thing on, but I always keep something hidden in my case." Peach looked over as the box… opened? There was a little pocket on the side, and he pulled something out of it. 

He held up the picture, showing her it. It was an image of him in front of a castle, with a small boy being held on his shoulders. They both had large grins on their faces, and the boy resembled Mario greatly. "This is Luigi. This was from last year."

Peach gushed as she stared at the photo. "He's so cute! Look at his little baby face- he looks just like you."

"I know." Mario smiled bashfully, his finger going to hover over the smaller one's face. "He still looks like a little kid, he's got the biggest baby face out there." 

"I can't wait to meet him." She told him, resting her hand over his. She wanted Mario to stay, she didn't want him to go back to his world, but she knew he had a wife to go back to and all of that. Cursing herself inwardly for letting her feelings go haywire like this, she stepped away slightly. "I'm sure Pauline is very proud of him."

Mario laughed. "Oh yeah, she is. Spike is too, actually! He's so smart, you know? He built a computer by himself when he was seven! Man, you'll be so shocked when you meet him. He's smaller than he looks." 

She smiled fondly at him, nodding softly to his statement. Though she had the sinking feeling that she wouldn't be able to handle letting Mario go after this was all over. 

_______

"There's a matter of custody for when Luigi is found." Spike glanced at Pauline from across the table as they sat with Gemma. They were going to try and convince her to let Luigi stay with one of them if Mario was not found, but he wasn't sure how well that would go. 

He knew Mario was out there somewhere. He could feel it.

His best friend wasn't dead.

"Well, temporary custody." Spike spoke up after taking a sip of his energy drink. It was honestly the only thing keeping him afloat right now. "When we find Mario and get him all healed up, Lu's going back to him."

"We have to think of Luigi's safety as our top priority. He's never been safe with Mario." Gemma argued, which she shouldn't have done. He saw the way Pauline's cheeks went red with her anger. He always compared her to TinkerBell. 

"He is safe with Mario, you think he'd feel safe anywhere else? It's not Mario's fault that there's two psychopaths always after his son. Mario adopted him, he's allowed the final say." Pauline insisted, crossing her arms. Spike remembered back to the other day, where he had to talk his friend out of a breakdown.

She had fully convinced herself that Mario was gone and it had taken him a good few hours to stabilise her to the point where she could think rationally and not destroy the rest of her house. 

They had decided they'd do this together. They weren't going to give up on their family. 

"If you take Luigi away from Mario, he'd only go running back the second he turned eighteen. They need to be together, you can't separate them." He insisted, already ready to slam a fist down if she refused their words.

Gemma sighed, rubbing her temples in frustration.

'Hang in there, Mario. We'll fight for you whilst you can't.'

Chapter Text

"Mario! Spike, where have you two gone off to?" 

Luigi had his knees up to his chest, his phone hidden between them and his body. He wasn't sure if they'd take his phone away from him if they caught him with it, so he decided it'd be best to hide it. 

He smiled sadly at the video playing. They used to go to arcades often, and Luigi always liked to document the fun they'd have. Pauline's voice rang through his head, and oh how much he longed to be held in his auntie's arms again.

He still remembered the day in the video like it was yesterday.

Luigi had his phone out, recording the entire situation. Pauline had his other hand in her's, just a natural instinct she had at this point. Mario had practically drilled it into them. 

They were currently at the mall, Luigi had needed a new part for his computer, so they'd gone to get one, only for Mario and Spike to have apparently spotted something, resulting in them running off somewhere unknown. 

Luigi knew they were doing something strange.

He had chosen not to mention to Pauline how he noticed Mario packing his lightsaber and Jedi robe in his bag that morning. It was too good of an opportunity to watch him embarrass himself. 

Pauline led him through, her grip on his hand firm. She was always more of a worrywart then the rest of them, coming second to Mario.

"It's over Anakin! I have the High Ground!" 

He smiled at the familiar call, taking the lead and pulling Pauline closer to the chaos. There was a new ball pit that had been installed, probably for a small carnival, in the center of the mall. 

Mario was standing against the top of the railing on the second floor, whilst Uncle Spike was standing in the ballpit. Both of them had their robes on with their lightsabers drawn. 

"You underestimate my power!" Spike called, and a hoard of laughter erupted from everyone around. Mario dropped down a ladder, which definitely wasn't stable, and Spike began to climb up.

"Oh fuck- fuck, ANAKIN STAY BACK! BACK I SAY!" Spike began to chase Mario through the mall, before an epic lightsaber battle took place. The security couldn't even apprehend them, because they were laughing too hard. 

Luigi laughed weakly as the video ended, though winced as it brought a stinging pain into his throat. His throat constantly felt like he had just accidentally swallowed a gulp of salt water.

How he wanted for everything to go back to normal. But he knew that even if Mario did rescue him, things would never be the same. Not even getting a dog, like he'd always wanted, could fix this. 

His finger moved across his phone and before he knew it his finger was hovering over Mario's contact once again. He listened to the ringing of the phone, praying to God that Mario would answer this time. 

"Uh- hello?" His heart lifted as he looked at the phone. Had he answered?! "Luigi- is it on? How the fuck do I turn it on? The vocmal thing. Yeah, that thing. Oh it is on? Uh, okay. If I missed your call it's either because you're not Weegee or I can't turn my phone on. I'll try to figure out how to get back to you. Okay, how do I turn it off?"

He faltered slightly, though he loved the memory of teaching him how to make a voicemail. But he wished he had actually answered the phone, then he could know if he was coming, how far away he was. If anything he'd just kill for Mario to tell him everything would be okay.

But that wasn't going to happen. He desperately wished that this would all be over, or that it'd be some sick dream that he just hadn't woken up from yet.

But it wasn't. Because he could feel the pain all over his body, he could feel the jolts of every single scrape and bruise littered across his skin. How much longer would he keep going on for?

He found he was questioning that more and more now.

With a small sigh, he went back to his photos app, and clicked on another video. 

"Oh look at you! You look amazing." Pauline smiled behind the camera. Luigi posed proudly, before jumping up and down excitedly. Mario was in the hospital, so he was staying at Pauline's house. Spike was staying over with them as well. "You look like a little scientist." 

She always knew the best things to say to him to make him smile. Luigi was about to reply, when all of a sudden he heard a grating voice from across the street.

"FLINT LOCKWOOD!"

He grinned as he looked across the street, a giggle erupting from his lips. Spike was stood across the street, dressed like Earl from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - it was one of Mario's favourite movies, so they all decided to dress as the characters to show him in hospital. It'd cheer him up.

Pauline had even dressed as Sam, and she HATED dressing up.

"Whatchu doing, Flint Lockwood?!" Spike asked as he ran over to him, doing the signature run, and getting in his face. Luigi tried to keep up the act as well as Spike was, but he just kept on giggling.

"You look silly." He laughed, poking his nose. Spike cracked a smile, before regaining his composure and frowning again.

"FLINT LOCKWOOD!"

Luigi screamed out a laugh and took off down the pavement, Spike chasing after him with a matching laugh. Pauline's giggles could be heard behind the phone, though he noticed a phrase she said. One he'd never heard before when watching the video.

"Oh Mario, what would we do without you?" 

He remembered going to the hospital, sitting at Mario's bedside and reciting the tale of the day to him. Mario hadn't even been awake, the blow he took to his head leaving him unconscious for weeks. 

His parents' attacks had been getting worse every time they did it. Luigi had always thought they were the main villains of his life. 

He had been stupid to think that, really. Now he was at the hands of a beast, a beast who he didn't know if Mario was strong enough to fight.

Would he even see Mario again? 

"Okay, okay. Remember though, the doctor said you can't put pressure on your ankle, Mario." Pauline's voice of reason came through the video as they entered the arcade. Mario waved his arm dismissively, enticing a laugh from Luigi.

"It was a recommendation, not an order." He insisted, before allowing himself to be pulled away by Spike. They always reverted back to being kids when in the arcade, and it was always hilarious to watch. "Besides, me and Spike got a date with dancing." 

"Date, yes. Best way to word it. You two are practically married." 

Spike pointed a joking finger at her, a teasing grin on his lips. "I may be aroace, but Mario's my soulmate." Luigi giggled and clapped his hands as Mario got down on one knee and pretended to propose to Spike randomly. He jumped up and down as his uncle wiped a fake tear and accepted the proposal.

"What are we gonna do with them, Lu?" Pauline asked him from behind the camera.

"Run away and take all the candy." Luigi suggested reasonably. He remembered the aftermath of that, Pauline bought out the entire sweetshop in the arcade. There were still sweets left in her closet to this day, and they had never let Mario or Spike have any of it.

"Let's celebrate our marriage."

"By dancing?"

"Fuck yeah, man!" 

Mario and Spike, like little kids, ran towards the dance machine and inserted their coins, before absolutely getting into it. They certainly knew how to strut their stuff, their arms stretching out and their hips swaying.

Auntie Pauline had told him they always did that. Ever since they were teenagers, they'd always gone straight to the dance machines. He knew he was there for it, but he was a baby so he honestly couldn't remember it. 

"Come on, Mario! You can do it!" Pauline cheered as Luigi jumped up and down excitedly. A song from the 80's was playing, Mario and Spike were into it. Even with a twisted ankle, Mario was still heaps above Spike in the points. 

Not that they both weren't amazing at it. 

The laughter still rang through his ears even as the video ended. Tears were streaming down his cheeks at this point, his head resting uncomfortably against the bars. 

The sound of family felt bittersweet now.

The sound of his family. 

He wanted to go home, go back to normal. He'd take a thousand kidnappings from his parents over this, because at least he knew there that Mario would always come and find him, without fail.

Now he didn't know where Mario was. He was alone, he didn't even have Spike or Pauline. Hell, he'd even give anything to see Gemma right now. Luigi just needed someone to hold onto, something, anything. 

But nothing would come. No matter what, he'd still be trapped in this cage, hung above what was quite literally certain death with no way of escaping. 

His head was burning, and not from the lava, but from the dread that had surged through his entire body. 

He wasn't going home.

Was he?

Chapter Text

"Okay, so I have to ask. You’re the only human I’ve seen here, what exactly are the Kongs?” Mario asked as they walked through the forest, his arms wrapped comfortingly around himself. The anxiety about what they would be facing swelling through him - he had a lot of street smarts and right now, not knowing what they were up against was setting off every alarm bell in his brain. “Because, Pauline and I went to watch this movie called Kong and he was a giant… monkey.”

It couldn’t be a giant monkey though, his mind rationalised, none of the creatures he’d seen thus far resembled anything too much. However, the thought of seeing an army of Kongs was unsettling to say the least. Because, that’s a big fuckin’ monkey.

“Oh, they are giant monkeys.” Peach confirmed with a firm nod to her head, bringing Mario to turn to her slowly, his jaw dropped. She glanced at him, apparently confused. Of course, of course! GIANT monkeys were normal in this world, how was that normal?! The fact that she was completely nonchalant about it was actually concerning. Peach then smiled. “Mario don’t worry, I’m sure we can convince them to help us.”

“What if we don’t?” He questioned, his heart continuously feeling as though it was dropping to the pits of his chest. “I swear, we are about to face giant fucking monkeys, and if Bowser is even worse than that, who the fuck has my son?!” Mario knew he was acting brash, but he was too anxious to care at this moment in time. What if the Kongs didn’t go peacefully? He knew he was up for a fight, always in fact, but he doubted he could take more than two on and win.

“Mario, it’s okay. We’re going to save him.” Peach told him, resting a firm hand on his shoulder, though he wasn’t sure how much he believed her reassurances. More and more doubts had begun to consume his mind, and he didn’t know what to do with them anymore. He longed to have Spike and Pauline back at his side, comforting him and reassuring them that they would find him, he didn’t know what to do without them if he was honest. "I know that this is all new, and terrifying, but for what it's worth I'm going to save Luigi if it's the last thing I do."

He didn't want Peach to hurt herself, but at least he was more believing of her words now than he had been previously. Maybe the Kong army would be understanding, like friendly giant apes? Or maybe they wouldn't be.

Nah, they couldn't possibly be as tall as Spike anyway, so what did he have to be afraid of? Spike was a damn giant.

They finally reached a clearing through the large jungle, and Mario's eyes set on a large door. Great, big door, big fucking monkeys! Why was his brain consumed with the thoughts of being squished by monkeys right now? It was not a good thought to have! 

"Oh my god, why did that scare you so much?!" Pauline was practically bent over laughing as they exited the cinema, they had just been to watch King Kong and it had scared Mario shitless. "You can watch Poltergeist but you can't watch that?"

"Shut up!" Mario snapped. Pauline's mother reprimanded her teasingly, pinching the tip of her ear. "It's not normal! A monkey that big?! What next, what if like- they learn to talk?!"

"Yeah right!" His best friend cackled, taking his hand in her's and beginning to drag him to the pizzeria down the street. "What next? There gonna be a gorilla in a tie? No wait, a sports coat! Ha! Imagine a gorilla being a monarch!" 

"Don't jinx it." Mario spoke sharply. Pauline only laughed more, however, apparently his fear was the funniest thing on the planet. 

"You ready?" Peach asked him softly, and he nodded slightly, even though he was not. He had to be ready though, because he had to save Luigi. No matter what, that's what he had to do. Though to Peach's credit, she gently nudged him behind her before knocking.

The doors slammed open, and before Mario knew it a giant gorilla was screaming in their faces. He unconsciously grabbed onto the back of Peach's dress as Toad began to scream. The Princess immediately sprung her arms out, shielding the two of them bravely.

What a woman. He thought to himself, feeling the validation of having great friends at his side. Peach was an amazing friend, in fact.

After the roaring stopped, he peeked around, and noticed a fucking sports coat.

"Fuck you, Pauline." He whispered in Italian, before clearing his throat. "How you doing?" His voice was unintentionally a higher pitch than it normally was as Toad squeaked out a 'whaaaat?'

"I am Princess Peach Toadstool, Ruler of Mushroom Kingdom." Peach spoke, her voice more authoritative than he had ever heard before. "I request an urgent audience with your King." 

The gorilla snorted, rude, and gestured for them to follow him. Through the gates. Into the land of more giant gorillas. 

Peach walked forward, though, so he supposed he had to as well. As she walked ahead, he lingered back to speak to Toad. "Did you notice the sports coat?" He whispered, and Toad nodded with a slight chuckle.

"Makin' me feel underdressed." He chuckled with him, patting his back as they picked up the pace to catch up to Peach. 

The gorilla was preparing what looked to be a car, and Mario couldn't help but wonder if maybe phones would work in this world, given that they could have cars. Had Luigi been trying to contact him all this time? 

He felt around in his pockets, feeling the hard back of his phone case in his back one. Could he call Luigi? He longed to hear the voice of his kid so badly.

"Mario, come on." Peach nudged his back, phasing him out of his thoughts. He nodded weakly, stepping forward and climbing into the car. No seatbelts. He recognised, subconsciously gripping onto the seat, a natural reaction he had now from Spike's terrible driving.

It was honestly a wonder how that man got his license. 

"You okay?" She whispered to him, but Mario unfortunately didn't get a chance to answer before he was being flung forward as the gorilla started driving. Thank god he had grabbed the seat, otherwise he was sure he would've gone flying out of the car.  

Clearly monkeys hadn't evolved too much, he thought, considering they can't drive fucking cars! How did this guy get his license? Were licenses even a thing in this world?

He felt one of Peach's arms wrap around his shoulder, keeping him close and secure beside her. He supposed she was just more protective of her friends, rationalising in his mind that the heat building up in his cheeks was from his fear of the giant gorilla, now taxi driver.

"It isn't as bad as Brooklyn taxis!" Mario shouted as they got flung around the car, his arms automatically reaching to grip Peach's shoulders, one of her arms moving to his waist.

"I definitely wanna go to Brooklyn now!" She called back to him, offering him a big toothy smile. Mario loved that smile, it was the most carefree he had seen her since they met. "You have to take me when we save Luigi!"

"Are you asking me out on a date?!" He shouted, tightening his grip on her waist as he nearly flew sideways out of the car. He had a stupid grin on his face, it'd be funny if she was asking him out, but as if she would. A princess, come on, really?

"Are you kidding? You're married! ….Would you say yes if I was?" She asked, and Mario chuckled, before realising what she had just said, turning to her with wide eyes.

"Wait what?"

The car then landed on the platform, Mario and Toad flying out as Peach landed gracefully, brushing her hands off. "Well, that was a nice ride!" She spoke cheerfully, helping Mario and Toad up with ease. "Come on!" She walked ahead, before a flutter of staffs slammed down against the ground.

Mario looked around, his gaze landing on a shit ton of gorillas. 

"Oh, by all means, come in." He heard from the other side of the hall, lifting his gaze to land on a King Fucking Kong. Like the movie! 

"Pauline, you are so dead when I see you." He whispered again, in Italian, before walking forward to meet the King. He noticed Peach bowing to the monkey, and followed suit.

"Great and Mighty Cranky Kong." She started, her voice strong and resilient. Like a true leader. "I am Princess Peach Toadstool, Ruler of Mushroom Kingdom, and I kindly request-."

"So," He cut her off rudely, and Mario felt a spark of anger ignite within him. How dare he interrupt her? She was doing everything respectfully, this guy didn't deserve any respect. "I heard you want my army?"

Peach blanched, seemingly taken aback by the King's unprofessionalism. 

"Yes, your Highness. There are so many lives at stake right now, people in captivity - our allies in captivity, a child-" Mario flinched at that- "in captivity, we need your help, before so many people become annihilated." 

The King clicked his tongue, and once again Mario narrowed his eyes. 

He really wanted to fight this guy, but that might be unethical because he looked older than North America itself. 

"What makes you think you're worthy of fighting alongside the greatest army in the world?" He announced, and the hall erupted in weird.. monkey sounds. Mario didn't like these monkeys.

"Because it's common decency, jackass." He muttered in Italian, thankfully no one heard him. Well, Toad did. 

"Sì, sì." Mario turned to him, his face twisted in amusement.

"Do you even know what that means?"

"Not at all." He snickered, before silencing himself as Peach continued to talk again. 

"Because, your Highness, lives are in danger. Your Kingdom will be next if we do not stop him now. Bowser is dangerous, he's going to stop at nothing to take over the world. If you truly believe that you do not need to be part of this battle, then you need to open your eyes to what is really going on right now." Her speech was really moving to everyone but the King.

"No. You're on your own."

Okay, Mario couldn't hold himself back anymore. He stormed up to the Gorilla King, an accusing finger pointed in his face. "Listen here, wise guy, I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but you're putting yer citizens at risk, yer people." 

"Mario! Be respectful." Peach chided, and he scoffed, turning to face her with an incredulous look.

"Are ya kidding me? He wasn't respecting you!" He scoffed. "Listen, Peach, I need to save my son! 'N this jackass is getting in the goddamn way! You think I care about respecting this guy when he's basically disrespected mi piccolo?"

"Your son? Ooh, I see, you're a dad looking for his son. Very noble, of course. I'll tell you what, defeat my son, and your little princess gets my army."

The room fell into a hushed silence.

"She's taller than him though." Toad's voice cut throughout the room. Mario turned to him slowly, his left eye twitching.

"Toad, maybe now isn't the time." That definitely didn't give a hit to his pride, not at all, nope. He looked at the asshole King. 

"You have a deal." 

Chapter Text

"Master, are you sure this is a good idea?" Kamek patted his apprentice's shoulder gently in reassurance. Though he wasn't entirely sure if it was a good idea, it was necessary. He was undoubtedly loyal to King Bowser - but to let him destroy a child, who had no involvement in politics or even anything on this planet? He would not be able to live with himself. 

So, he had appointed one of his apprentices to get him out of there, and the rest of the prisoners if he had enough time. It was inhumane, and he simply could not stand for it. He had entirely enough faith that everything would go to plan, after all he had trained them well. She'd be fine.

"Of course, apprentice. You needn't worry, I can keep the King distracted. The guards are lazy, they wouldn't say anything anyway. You can do this." He wondered how else he could reassure them for a moment, pondering. How could he make this situation better for them? "And, if it does go wrong, I will tell him myself you were ordered by me to do so." 

That seemed to do the trick, but it wasn't like Kamek was lying. His apprentices were like his children, he'd raised them since they were all babies. Despite them all being well into their thirties by now, he still saw them as his children. It took decades for them to progress into professional magikoopas, but they were all doing incredible under his guidance. 

He smiled softly after his apprentice, his most shy and skittish one. They were easily able to sneak through cracks and go unseen, and was one of his most talented children. Kamek had no doubt in his mind he would be able to free the young human. 

Though he wondered what he'd do after, his main mission right now was to get him out of there. He needed to, there was a father out there looking for his child, getting himself into something he wasn't prepared for.

He didn't necessarily agree with His Majesty forcing Princess Peach into a marriage, but he knew he couldn't stop that. What he could stop was this unassuming father and child from being murdered when this was never something they needed to get involved in. 

After his apprentice rounded the corner, he turned and flew down the corridor, intending to go and meet with His Nastiness to aid him in ruling the Dark Lands (if the Koopa did any ruling at all. It was mainly Kamek's duty.) 

Things were seemingly going to plan. He had managed to keep his horridness distracted for over an hour - surely enough his apprentice would have managed to escape with the child by now! 

It was saddening to see the state the young one had gotten himself into. Recently he had become a blank slate, and that's not at all what he wanted him to be. He deserved to be free with his father, not trapped in a nightmare. 

"My King!" A koopa guard ran in whilst they were reading through a civilian report. Bowser didn't want to help the people struggling in the Town, too consumed with planning his wedding to Princess Peach that he had began to neglect his own Kingdom.

"What is it? We are busy here!" Bowser roared whilst Kamek finished filling out the response to the mother in need of financial aid.

"One of the magikoopas was caught helping the child out of the castle." Suddenly, Kamek's entire world seemed to stop. His youngling, alongside the beaten, bruised child were thrown through the doors, landing on the stone floor with a hard thump.

Sweat began to trickle down his face as his perfectly formed scales began to break under the stress of being caught. 

"A traitor, I see." Bowser hummed, walking towards the child, Luigi. "You thought you could escape from me that easily? Did you think you could go to your daddy dearest and run away?" 

 Despite the pain he was going through, Luigi was strong. Stronger than Kamek had ever been, having the guts to stand up to someone fifty times his size. "I'm a bit doubtful of your leadership considering your own subjects are against you, if I'm honest." One of the guards snorted, resulting in a flame being thrown in their direction. 

How was this possible, however? How come someone had all the might and strength within such a small body? Such a young, gentle soul being able to face those who have wronged them head on?

Had Kamek lived his life the wrong way? Cowering away in fear by someone he had failed to raise into a good, decent human like he had so tried.

It had seemed as though things were going well at first - he had been determined to raise Bowser to be different from his father, but the warning signs came with his infatuation with the young Princess Peach. When he had injured that poor, sweet child, he had collapsed with shock. 

Sometimes it was honestly surprising. How could Bowser have gotten into his head so much to believe that Princess Peach would actually marry him? Especially when she's an independent leader in her own stead.

Luigi would be a good leader, too. He's said more to Bowser than Kamek had said in all his years serving him.

"You'll be smart not to defy me, child. I don't care if I have to deliver your corpse to your father." Bowser threatened, dropping him to the ground. He didn't even recall watching him pick him up. "As for you, I shall have you executed for betraying the throne."

If Kamek was ever going to act, it had to be now. He'd been compliant for so long, but not when his children were involved. Never when his children were involved.

"Sire, it was me! I'm the one who ordered him to free the young one. If you're going to execute anyone, it shall be me." Bowser stared down at him as though he was a piranha plant with no more teeth to snap at. 

"You think you can go against me, Kamek? Destroy the one thing I have against that wench Mario?" Smoke began to emit from his King's nose whilst Kamek braced himself for the impact. At least he would die knowing he'd protected his child. 

Or, that was what he thought. 

"No, no I think you deserve a greater punishment, Kamek. Life. You're going to live your life knowing you failed to protect those you love." His blood ran cold, and a soundless scream emitted from his lips as his apprentice was scorched on the ground, lying unmoving after the flames stopped.

"NO!" 

His head whipped around to Luigi, the source of the scream, his hands clutched over his mouth. However, instead of seeing shock which was usual after the first time seeing death, he seemed like he was reliving his own past. Like he had seen this before. 

Stumbling slightly as he stepped off his broom, he staggered over to his apprentice, who was lying limp on the floor. His hand reached out to caress his cold cheek, tears brimming the corners of his eyes.

That was when he knew. He was no longer loyal to Bowser, and when Princess Peach sent over their army, he would turn against his King.

~~~~~

"I- I don't know if I can do this." Mario breathed, clutching the sides of his head as he stared down at the floor with wide eyes. Fighting a giant monkey? How was he supposed to do that? Yeah he had the build of one, but he hardly had half of the muscles! "I mean, c'mon! They're all giant, can I even manage- oh my god, oh my god." 

His chest felt as though it was tightening in his chest, squeezing around his lungs tight enough to puncture them. His breathing became erratic, his senses going haywire. He couldn't feel his legs, or his arms. 

All he could feel was the pounding against his heart and his head. They were both lowered and heightened at the same time.

Could he even save Luigi? Would he ever see him again? What about Spike and Pauline, they'd be worried sick by now.

How long has he even been gone? Is he even alive? What if he was doing this only to take his son home to plan his funeral? What would he do without Luigi in his life?

Mario looked up at the heavy sensation he felt on his hands, looking at the blurry silhouette of Peach standing in front of him. 

"Mario, it's okay. Breathe with me, look, in and out!" 

At first he didn't register her words, but eventually, he began to breathe in and out with her. His thoughts began to collect themselves, and the tears stopped streaming down his cheeks.

He wasn't necessarily embarrassed by the tear stains and the red eyes. Luigi had never been embarrassed of his, and his kid was a damn good influence on anyone he met.

Which is why he had to save him.

"Sorry, sorry. It's just gettin' harder for me to be without Lu for so long." He confessed, sitting down on the stone bench in the room behind the thrones. Peach had wanted to speak to him about who he'd be going up against before the battle, but Mario had just wasted a good twenty minutes of their valuable time needed to prepare him.

Looking down at his hands, Peach's were still clutching them tightly and securely. Protectively. Peach was protecting him, but why?

Better yet, why did he feel so secure when he was with her? It didn’t make much sense. He had to focus on saving his kid, he didn’t have time to care about any of this. Yes, this world was incredible,  yes Peach was ethereal, but he didn’t want to experience any of this without Luigi. 

“You can do this, Mario. Really, don’t get yourself down. I believe in you.” She reassured him, offering him a bright smile. It was enough to snap Mario out of his thoughts, which was for the better. He didn’t need his mind to be against him right now. It wouldn’t do any good.

“I’ve got this.” He mumbled, more to himself than to Peach. He had to encourage himself, otherwise it would be harder for him to manage. 

Peach rested her hands on his shoulders, looking him over with a last look, before smiling. "Yeah, you've got this. Go down there, and I'll see you afterwards." 

She ushered him away, smiling after him as he walked down the steps. Her smile quickly dropped though, as she could sense a presence behind her. "What do you want to say? You may as well spit it out." Cranky Kong chuckled, and Peach finally turned to face him. She didn’t know what this guy’s problem was, but he was really beginning to piss her off. 

 "I may ask, what do you hope to succeed with being close to him like this?" He questioned, and Peach raised an eyebrow at him with confusion. What was he talking about? 

"We both have similar goals." She answered, but that didn't appear to be what Cranky Kong meant.

 "Now I've heard many things about you. Princess Peach Toadstool, the so called independent Ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. But you're just that, a princess." His tone was demeaning, patronising, and Peach didn't like it. "That man is a newly discovered wonder, a hero, even. What are you? A Princess who with time will only be forgotten about?" 

She frowned at him, shaking her head. It was hard to ignore the sting that was felt in her heart at the very thought of being forgotten. The image of Mario turning away from her in disappointment, walking off into the distance…  "No, Mario wouldn't do that." She denied. Even though she'd only known him for a short while, Peach knew he wouldn't. 

She had no reason to distrust Mario. 

"Take it from me. He's gonna take everything you've got, and then leave you in the dirt." He smirked. "Though I'm sure you're familiar with that." She rubbed her arms, once again feeling the burning heat of Bowser's flames seeping into her skin. He patted her arm, before making his way out onto the platform. "I'd think about that if I were you. Is falling for a man who will never care about you worth it?"

But Mario did care. He did. He cared. He wouldn’t leave her in the dirt, he wouldn’t leave her to rot.

Mario was not Bowser. 

She slowly began to make her way to the stand where she’d be sitting with Toad, her hands were sweating beneath her gloves, paired with the trembling of her entire body. How could such a vile person get into her head that easily? How much did he know about her?

Why did he know exactly what to say to bring her down?

No, she couldn’t think about it. She was Princess Peach, she had to put her people before her heart, like she always had. But Mario was just so special , she couldn’t imagine not having him in her life now that he was in it.

She had to be there for him, they were useful to each other, much like they had found friendship and trust with each other. They had something they needed to protect, and she deeply resonated with the man.

Mario had shown her his weakness, he had shown her something he didn’t trust many others with. He had opened up about his life and his traumas, much like she had done the same. 

Peach was beginning to realise that the aura around them was much deeper than just friendship. Two people who had just recently met could not trust each other that easily, so how come she and Mario had?

Were the feelings she had stronger than just a simple crush? That was silly to think about, she was thirty-one for star’s sake. Now she felt as though she was a silly teenager again, obsessing over looking for someone like her, her true love. 

No, Mario was married. Mario had a family, an entire different world to her’s. Whatever she was thinking of, was impossible.

So she had to forget.

.

..

…

Which was easier said than done. 

Given the way her heart immediately warmed at the sight of Mario coming through the doors, she knew she was already in too deep.

~~~~~

Mario’s heart had calmed down after he spoke to Peach. He knew what he had to do, he knew he was capable of doing it, but it was his mind that was against him. So he simply had to fight against his head, and then everything would be okay.

It was as simple as that, yeah!

He walked onto the platform, looking around at all of the monkey people both cheering and booing. His heart temporarily dropped, but he picked it back up and readjusted it just as fast. He had to do this.

For Luigi..

And for Peach.

She needed this just as much as he did. Mario would do anything for her, should she just make the request, she was such a dear friend to him.

With a sigh, Mario pulled up his sleeves, bracing himself for what was going to be a hard battle. 

As soon as he did, the door burst open, revealing a fucking monkey in a tie. What the fuck? Why? He was going to beat Pauline’s ass when he saw her next. Why did he have to jinx literally everything?

“Pauline I fucking hate you.” He said to himself as he looked at the monkey, who had begun to dance in the middle of the arena.

“DK!”

The pecs were moving.

“Donkey Kong!”

Mario really hated his life.

“DK!”

Was he supposed to take his shirt off too?

“Donkey Kong!”

Did he even have a tie? Let alone know how to put one on?

“No- ENOUGH WITH THE SHOWING OFF! You’re humiliating!” Well that wasn’t very nice, as annoying as this damn monkey was, he was still the guy’s son, right? He was beginning to hate this guy even more than he already did.

“What do you mean? They like it!” Okay, to the annoying monkey’s credit, the dancing pecs were actually really funny. Spike used to do it all the time when they would be in the gym locker rooms at school. “DK!”

“Alright Simmer down! Simmer down! Right,” the King cleared his throat, and Mario smiled up at Peach as she did a coo-koo expression to him whilst gesturing to Donkey Kong. " To make this battle last more than one minute I have placed power ups around the arena; you’re welcome Mario.”

Was that a challenge? The patronising tone got on his nerves, so regardless he was going to deem it as a challenge. He could do this in less than a minute, and he didn’t need any goddamn power ups.

Though it would be cool to see what they looked like. 

No, he needed to focus.

“HA! I don’t need any power ups to break every bone in your tiny body!” Donkey Kong laughed, leading Mario to rolling his eyes. Why did everyone always shoot to his height to insult him? It was getting kind of old now, if he was honest.

This kid was just trying to get his dad’s attention, and honestly Mario could understand that. 

It wouldn’t stop him from kicking his ass. 

“Right then, begin.”

Mario stood still, raising his eyebrows at DK, who appeared to have been waiting for Mario to charge. But he wasn’t that stupid, he knew that would catch him off guard. “Well? Are ya scared?”

He teased the giant gorilla, sticking his tongue out playfully. The entire crowd gasped as though they were in a stand up comedy theatre. It was rather unsettling if he was honest. 

“Me? Scared? Never! You should be the one who’s scared.” With that, the gorilla clenched his fists and charged towards Mario, to which he swiftly dodged the attacks, a teasing smile remaining on his face as he did. 

Honestly, he felt like a video game character. Always being able to dodge the hits thrown at you with enough practice - going to the gym everyday apparently applied the same logic. Especially with his and Pauline’s sparring matches every Saturday.

He had thirty seconds left now. He had to prove this asshole Cranky Kong wrong.

Ha, imagine naming your kid Cranky. 

As Donkey Kong clenched his fist once more and charged, Mario clenched his own. His arm flew forward, swiftly uppercutting the gorilla and sending him flying to the ground, unconscious. The dude must have hit his head.

He didn’t think he was that strong! Awesome!

The crowd began to cheer for him, but Mario’s eyes were on Peach and Toad. They were both cheering loudly for him, clapping their hands excitedly. 

He cleared his throat, looking up at the stand. 

“Yo, could I try out your cat power up?”

~~~~~

“That was incredible!” Peach ranted, pacing around the decking of the house whilst Mario stared in awe at the cat power up he was currently wearing. The fur was so soft, he just wanted to cuddle up in it and go to sleep. “You got him in one hit! Without a power up, nothing!”

The Princess then froze, staring at him with widened eyes. “You’re almost as good at combat as me! Who do you practice with?” She asked, and Mario immediately smiled proudly.

“Oh, Pauline! We spar every Saturday. She’s incredible at it.” 

Peach smiled warmly. “She sounds like an amazing wife.”

Wife? Oh no no no. Mario laughed, waving his arm dismissively. Did Peach really think that? Pauline was gay.

“Princess, Pauline isn’t my-.”

A searing pain met his back, sending him flying forward, the power up deactivating. Pressure. Pressure on his back. His father was here, was his father here?! Was he the one who-.

Mario’s eyes rolled to the back of his head, succumbing to their own mind as his breath began to hastily quicken. 

Peach stared at Donkey Kong, fury lacing her features. “Ha, not so strong now is he? One hit to the back and suddenly he can’t breathe?! What kind of hero is he?”

Mario’s hurt. Mario is panicking again, because of him. Because of this waste of space, he hurt Mario. Her fists clenched as she walked towards him, gripping his shoulders tightly and staring him down, anger burning through her veins.

“How dare you? If you ever touch him again, especially on the back, I will end you.” She threatened, tightening her grip. “And remember, King Bowser feared me up until he got the Super star. I am not a force to be reckoned with. Understand?”

“Y-Yeah, just let me go!” 

Peach released his grip, before then turning her focus back to Mario, rushing towards him and gripping his hands tightly, having discovered it was a grounding technique for him. He was seeming to gather his thoughts just fine, so she set on just being there to support, reassure him that she was there, and that she wouldn’t leave his side, especially not now.

Hopefully, she wouldn’t ever have to. 

As his breathing returned to normal, Peach pulled him into a hug, being careful to not touch his back, lowering her arms down, barely hovering over his sides. He sniffled into her shoulder, seemingly refusing to cry in front of her.

She wished he’d allow himself to show his weaknesses, but she would never push him to do so. 

“I just want my family.” Mario mumbled, and Peach nodded softly.

“I know, Mario, I know.”

~~~~~

“We’re his goddamn family!” Spike shouted, slamming his hands down on the desk in Pauline’s office. They were having yet another meeting with Gemma, and it wasn’t going well, like, at all. “You can say all the bullshit you want, but in court we will defend Mario, not you! Luigi and Mario belong together, and you can’t take that from them.”

“I can if Mario is not a suitable guardian, he has allowed Luigi to be taken every single time. He’s failing the system he is under.” She insisted, shaking her head swiftly.

“Just like your system failed him?” Pauline retorted. “Where were you when Mario got diagnosed with C-PTSD? You were his social worker at that time, he was only fifteen! You didn’t support him then, nor did you support Luigi when he came back to our custody traumatised because of the home he was placed in! You’re a piece of shit, a shit social worker! I have every right to report you to my council.”

Spike smirked, crossing his arms. “Yeah, Pauline’s the mayor, you’re under her employment.”

Gemma clenched her fists. “It doesn’t change the fact that-.”

“What? That Mario did his best with the circumstances he had? The circumstances you gave him? Luigi has a free mind, and if he was asked, he’d choose to stay with Mario. You don’t have any power anymore, not whilst the court would lean in our favour. Give up.” Pauline threatened, sighing  as she got up and stormed out of the room.

After slumping down in her chair, she turned to Spike with a sigh. “This is our family, we’re doing the right thing fighting for it, right? Even though we don’t have any answers?”

Spike nodded, leaning over and resting his hand on top of her’s. “We do, Li. We do. Just wait, everything will be okay, we’ll all be back to normal soon.”

Chapter Text

If it had been any other occasion, Mario knew he would have found this incredible. Come on, making karts?! What kind of hyper-technology was this! Enough to create an entire kart within seconds? Honestly, why did he even go to high school all of those years just to find out the world didn’t work like that in every damn dimension!?

Fuck that - he was more knowledgable than any other parent on Earth now.

Except he wasn’t on Earth anymore… he could be the most knowledgeable here instead, then! Because he’d been to two dimensions, and oh how badly did he want to rub that in Pauline’s face.

Upon digging into his memories he could practically see the way the woman would cross her arms, look at him with a raised eyebrow, before an exasperated sigh would leave her lips. She’d chastise him, before making a comment along the lines of, ‘why am I friends with you?’

He’d respond in turn with a wiggle of his eyebrows and a comment of, ‘ because I’m sexy’.

God, he missed her and Spike.

Regardless, he hopped into the kart (seriously, an actual kart!), resisting the urge to flex his fingers excitedly as he drove up to the road, which was a rainbow, (a freaking rainbow!) 

What the hell was this place!?

It continued to surprise him everyday, but alongside that it also reminded him that these were the memories he wished he was sharing with Luigi, the memories that Luigi deserved to experience. The way his boy’s eyes would light up, and he’d tug at his hands to explore and discover every single thing that he found…

He needed his kid back. That was the whole reason why he was doing this. For Luigi, because no experience was incredible if he didn’t have his kid by his side. Nothing mattered to him if there wasn’t Luigi to experience this with. 

Regardless of how absolutely breathtaking Princess Peach looked at that moment, on her motorbike, what a badass honestly.

She was truly admirable.

Not that Mario was looking, of course. 

-

“Princess Peach, here we are… guess, love really makes a guy come out of his shell huh?” Bowser chuckled, holding the piranha plants in his hands, legs crossed over one another.

Who was this guy?

Luigi raised an eyebrow as he looked at him. He’d again been dragged out of his damn cage, after experiencing quite possibly one of the most traumatic things in his life (really, he’d only just managed to stop crying), and was reviewing this guys.. Love speech?

What kind of grown ass adult was this? Or was this like… some weird kink or something that this guy had? Either way..

Luigi wasn’t sure he cried more witnessing that death or witnessing this man’s pitiful attempt at wooing someone. 

He honestly could assume right of the bat that Princess Peach could do so much better than whoever the fuck this was. And yes, he could swear about it, this guy had kidnapped him. Automatic no kudos to him. 

Not to mention, his arm was broken!

The piranha plants began to bite at him as though they could hear his internal thoughts and he jumped back; Bowser promptly squished them beneath his feet after that.

“Let’s rule the world, together, forever… will you marry me?”

Luigi raised an eyebrow at the turtle as he held a hand out to him. 

“I’m fifteen.” He responded instead, pout on his lips. Grumpiness was clear in his tone.

“It’s obviously not for you, you idiot! It was directed at Princess Peach!” 

“Well if I was Princess Peach I wouldn’t wanna marry someone who smelled of burnt cra-!”

The door slammed open, and both of them turned their heads.

“WHAT?!” Bowser yelled at the Guard, shrugging off his hat and jacket. 

“We have found the Princess and the moustachioed human.” The guard announced and honestly, Luigi felt the way his heart painfully dropped to the pit of his stomach. What was Mario doing..? Was he going to get himself killed?! “He has defeated Donkey Kong and won the Kong army.”

Oh.

Well, he could basically feel the phantom touch of Spike patting his back, followed by, ‘never underestimate your big brother, Lu.’

He never should underestimate him. He was so incredible, and here he was, coming to save him! Luigi knew he would, he knew that, Mario loved him, of course he’d come to save him!

“So like, Peach was super impressed?”

“Are you a man child?” Luigi couldn’t help but ask, despite immediately regretting it as the words left his lips. He still didn’t deserve the shot of fire that got flung his way - honestly jumping into the lava was sounding pretty good right now.

Just to escape this insufferable turtle.

“It appears so, yes.” The guard answered, no acknowledgement of Luigi at all. Not that he wanted to be acknowledged. Maybe he couldn’t see him over that giant nose. “They are heading towards their secret passage.”

Well it wasn’t so secret anymore, apparently.

“Oh they think they can surprise me, huh? I’ll enjoy finally getting my chance to destroy that little human who thinks he can interrupt all my plans.”

-

“It’s the fact that they even remotely believe we can give up on them this quickly.” Spike rambled as he and Pauline left the police station after yet another meeting that left them only with more disappointment and heartache, “how can we do that? There’s no traces of them, it’s not even humanly possible! His parents always left behind evidence that they could trace.”

Pauline offered an analytical look, though honestly she doubted that she looked as intelligent as she usually preferred to be. All the sleepless nights must finally be getting to her, because she honestly felt like she was going to pass out from exhaustion any minute now.

It had been so long.

“We know we can’t give up. But what other leads do we have?” She asked Spike weakly. They’d checked everything, everywhere, every single little nook and cranny and yet not a single thing had gotten them any closer to finding them. It seemed almost impossible now, all of it. There didn’t seem to be a way out anymore, the light at the end of the tunnel had flickered one too many times and extinguished, so now every direction they turned was wrong. There was no way of finding an exit now.

“We can find more! Mario wouldn’t give up on us, we can’t give up on him so easily- he wouldn’t- he wouldn’t let himself die knowing Lu wasn’t going to a safe place.” The taller man continued to insist and she wished she could have the same mindset as him, the same ideology that the missing puzzle pieces to their family were here somewhere, just patiently waiting for them to stick their hands under the correct spot beneath the couch, where they’d then be back in their clutches.

But they weren’t.

It seemed impossible, and now she was beginning to realise their family would never be one again.

A thought she really could not handle.

Chapter Text

HELLO! What is good my fellow toads and Mario-lovers!!!

That is if anyone is still here...honestly couldn't blame you if you weren't.

Regardless, I am here to announce the return of this fic...

Well, not yet.

I have TWO MONTHS left of college, can u believe it? I started this fic before I even started college and now it's almost over! Regardless, as soon as I am finished, this fic will return guys!

I promise this time I swear-

So, get June 15th in your calendars as that's when the continuation of this fic will begin!

Love you all, thank you for sticking with me <3